Aligned For You

Chapter 14

TW: Descriptions of violence, blood

Caius tried to twist around, to hit back at his assailant, but the kid held onto the daggers and was moved with his turn. Then a little foot braced against his back, pushed, pulled, and the daggers were free, sending a shock of pain and blood through Caius' body as, temporarily overwhelmed, he collapsed, calling out blindly in fear to the one person he could always count on in a fight. "MacKenzie!"

But she wasn't here, and Timothy, hands shaking but footing strong, looked down wild-eyed at Prince Caius, before looking over at Prince Felix, a dagger (probably two of MacKenzie's daggers even) in each hand.

"F-for the Kingdom!" Tim said, stepping towards Felix. Blades raised.

"C-Caius?!"

Felix looked on in horror as Timothy--fuck had he been pretending to be asleep?!--stabbed Caius and the prince fell, blood gushing from his back. He knew the danger of it, and yet he'd still underestimated the child, trusting feigned sleep and the two escorts to give them a free night. And now they were going to die, becoming compost for the greenhouse plants and the war would continue and everyone would die they'd all--! Caius was going to bleed out.

Dark spots entered Felix's vision and he could barely stay upright, his body shaking and swaying with his efforts. He couldn't... He couldn't let everyone down like this! "Your king wants his son dead? Your kingdom w-wishes for its people to die? How c-could..."

He didn't even have to struggle to get his point out, as something flew through the air and struck Timothy before bouncing off to the ground. And, the last thing Felix saw before he passed out was a giant humanoid shape coming into his darkened vision, a deep voice humming in displeasure.

"Shit!"

As Caius' body shook violently, the pain too much, too much this time, he barely registered seeing Felix's body cry out, stumble, and fall...and then Timothy's body, too, suddenly jerked to the right and collapsed. Panic and fear engulfed Caius. They were dead! They were both dead! His prince and a child were dead! How could he let this happen!? Tua please, Tua save them, Tua PLEASE!

And then a footstep, heavy, deafening, walked right past Caius' head, and he looked up. And up. And up.

Giants.

In his panicked, pain-soaked mind, that was the explanation his brain provided. Giants from the myths. Great, hulking beasts that casually disguised themselves as hills and mountainsides. The prince and a child were dead, not a few feet away from Caius' bleeding, crumbled form, and the giants had come.

Was it going to eat them?

Desperate (to what? save them? they're dead, Caius. You failed) to stop that, Caius reached out, his body screaming, he was screaming. He shakily, weakly grasped the giant’s boot, trying desperately to hold on, hold it back. Felix was dead. The child was dead. Caius...was dying. His vision blurring, an intense sense of vertigo making him feel as if he were falling a great distance while lying on the ground.

He held onto the boot and rasped out, "L-leave them alone!" hands shaking. A useless effort.

He was falling. No, stay awake! He had to get to Felix! He had to wake him (he's dead he's dead something had happened he fell he's dead!)! He had to get the kid! Even...even crying children...

Caius' grip from the boot failed, and he passed out into the dirt with little more ceremony after that.

Fuyuji didn't waste time scooping up the children, Prince Felix and the littlest one in one arm, Prince Caius in the other, carefully rested on the marksman's shoulder while he used the cape to press against the stab wounds and slow the bleeding.

He'd been late. In all fairness, he'd been coming back from the other side of the castle when he heard shouting, but, still. It was his job to ensure that everyone could sleep easy at night, and he'd failed. Prince Caius had still been hurt.

Not wasting any more time, Fuyuji booked it to the Medical Wing, alerting both Dicean and Luminary healers on the way. And, once Prince Caius was being stitched back together, the little one kept under a watchful eye until he awoke--wouldn't have more than a bruise and maybe a headache--and Prince Felix carefully brought back to bed with stabilizing medicine in his system...it was time to alert Aiichi.

--

When Felix woke up, he regretted it immediately. He felt weak and exhausted, head buzzing painfully and chest heavy. But he still forced his hazy eyes open, landing on the form of their strategist and registering a careful hand around his wrist, measuring his pulse.

"...mm?"

Mika looked over at his little sound, smiling in relief. "G'morning, Feli. And it still is morning, though not for long."

"Before you go back to sleep, I need to give you some more medicine, alright? Don't worry, it's in tea. But you are on bed rest for today. And maybe tomorrow." The soft circles the strategist was rubbing into his wrist were more comforting than they had any right to be, considering the news.

"...nnno. Too much to do..."

"That other people will take care of," Mika easily countered. "The most important thing for you to do is rest. It's what we're advising Caius to do today too--he and Timothy are both alright, by the way. Fuyuji got help before anything got too bad."

"Now, here." Felix couldn't do anything as Mika propped him up and held a teacup to his lips, though he raised a shaky hand to at least try to drink by himself. "Your work is over, Feli. Let us do our part now--you can't do everything by yourself."

"Though," ze smiled knowingly, pushing zeir glasses back up from where they'd fallen down zeir freckled nose. "It's nice to know you weren't by yourself this time."

-

When Caius had woken up, the first thing he had noticed, before even opening his eyes, was that breathing hurt. Like...a lot. And his hands were shaking, even though he wasn't doing anything.

The second thing he noticed was a cold, bony hand on his forehead, and when he opened his eyes and saw the Head Secretary there, his already labored breaths caught in his throat. What...why...?

...why was he alone with him?

Caius' eyes scanned around the room, confirming what he had already subconsciously felt on the hairs of his skin, as the Head Secretary's hand moved from palm down, to knuckle down, feeling out Caius' temperature. Noticing Caius' eyes open, the old man chuckled, leaving his hand there for an uncomfortable moment before relenting, leaning back into his chair on Caius' bedside.

"Awake, are we? About time, really. Quite a bit happening," the Head Secretary said, taking out a napkin and coughing into it a little bit as Caius just silently stared at him. "I'm afraid there's not much time for sleeping, my prince. I imagine we'll have quite a few trials coming up today." The Head Secretary sighed, a display of sadness that Caius couldn't quite bring himself to believe. "A few executions too, I suppose."

Executions!? Caius's whole body tensed even further, fists clenching...and he hacked into a coughing fit, his body unable to handle even that level of tension. "W-who?" he asked, trying to speak and breathe through the coughing.

"Oh, some of the children. The ring-leaders, anyway. Definitely the one who you so carelessly let put holes in you. Honestly, my prince, you really must be more aware of your surroundings. If it had been left up to you, Prince Felix could have been killed! And that would have just been..." Ezar waved his hand in the air, shrugging slightly, "...terribly inconvenient."

"F...Felix's okay?" Caius asked. The thought hadn't occurred to him yet in his just waking moment, but the relief of hearing that practically crushed him. He had...he remembered thinking... Desperately, he asked, "He's alright!?"

Head Secretary Ezar considered his question with something close to confusion, before smiling warmly, placing a comforting hand on Caius' arm.

Caius shivered.

"He's just fine, Your Grace. He'll be up and about before we know it. Which is why you must also get back to one hundred percent as soon as physically possible, and honestly probably a bit before that. Wouldn't want to portray the Luminary family as weak, now would we?" he chuckled.

"...you can't...you can't execute the kids," Caius said, his voice weak and shaking. God, he really didn't feel good. He needed more sleep desperately, and maybe some food, and more than anything his friends. But this was important. He had to pull it together for this.

Ezar raised an eyebrow. "We're not going to execute all of them, my prince, we're not monsters. Probably just three. I think I've already picked out which ones I'm going to recommend. It's to be expected, turning against the Luminary Kingdom. Regardless of your age. A hard example must be set."

The Head Secretary seemed content that this was all that needed saying on the subject, and started to stand. Caius's hand shot out, grabbing the whole man in a death-grip, his face tight and furious.

"Y-you can't...execute them..." Caius grasped, his faltering words not betraying the underlying fury behind them. "Y-you can't...put someone o-on trial...f-for...following… m-my orders."

There was a heavy...dangerous moment of silence.

"My prince," the Head Secretary said, warning in every fragment of the words. "I will not allow you to say foolish things. I can stop you."

"Y-you won't...I...I've already told others...my escorts a-are also aware..." Caius gasped, blood starting to pull at the end of his mouth. "As I had i-instructed… Th-they're...all qualified now... for training..."

"...a-as Royal Assassins."

-

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

"Aiichi, I swear," Hyde grumbled, his irritation almost visibly growing as the boss tapped on his desk in thought.

"You swear what, my friend?" Aiichi asked with a smile. One that meant nothing. "To help me find a solution to this? Because you've already done so. It's not like you to repeat yourself."

The long-suffering secretary threw his hands in the air and leaned back in his seat before looking back at the leader with a steady gaze. "Felix will be fine, he's always recovered."

"He's fragile."

"Caius will be alright with some rest."

"He was still wounded on our watch."

"We're short-staffed. The war ending will bring the rest of the guardforce back."

Aiichi fixed his secretary with a look that edged into annoyance. "Don't even pretend to see a silver lining with the children. As long as they are in Dicea, we can protect them, but once they cross the border? Neither they nor their parents are our citizens, and unless they decide to stay here, to give up everything they had in their own lives, there's nothing we can do. And advertising ourselves as providing asylum for Luminary refugees--specifically people who are being reported as enemies of the crown--isn't exactly a great show of union, is it."

Hyde deflated a bit, looking at the ground as if it had answers. "Ezar was speaking about execution. For children. More than just the one Fuyuji found in the greenhouse, as if that'd be okay in any way either. It's like they don't care about their people at all."

"They don't," Aiichi said flatly. "Not like we do, anyway. It's always about wealth and image with these folk. Who cares if three, thirty, three hundred have to die if they can keep their power?"

He’d really thought different at one time, but those days were long gone.

He scoffed, lowering his head. "...you sent word to Sara and Aihito?"

Hyde nodded. "Ryouhei sent it out first thing this morning. They should get it before Noel is notified--they'll need all the preparation time they can get to deal with that mess."

"...we'll protect the children, make sure Fe and Caius recover as well as they can. Hope the Luminary representatives have something resembling hearts." Aiichi sighed with finality, rising from his desk. "Hold down the fort, Hyde. I have a prince to apologize to."

-

There had been a long series of closed curtains and locked doors. Sometimes MacKenzie and Alonne were together, more often than not they weren't. Sometimes MacKenzie came out of the room with new, red bandages. Alonne had come out of one with a bruise all along the side of his face and a limp that lasted a few hours.

It didn't matter. Their stories never changed.

"Prince Caius was concerned about the Dicean Royal Family not having any assassins on payroll, as far as he could tell," MacKenzie said, her eyes staring fixedly on the middle distance as a group of large, angry, powerful people asked her to explain it again. "And having only brought me from the Luminary Kingdom, he decided to start recruiting."

"He was afraid that if something happened to MacKenzie, then he and his betrothed would be left with no way to replace her," Alonne said, staring at his hands, his shoulders up to his ears, the side of his face aching. "She needed to pass on her skills to others, for a worst-case scenario. So, we all reached out to the seven children, and offered them a chance at the position."

"W-whoever made an assassination attempt against me that could feasibly, actually kill me would be picked as MacKenzie's apprentice," Caius explained to the Dicean representative, who was staring at him in open horror. For the sake of the children's lives, Caius swallowed the shame that the look gave him, continuing on as if it were nothing. "There have been a few attempts since the contest started, but," Caius laughed, "I guess Timothy really wanted to win."

"Unfortunately, Timothy is still young and inexperienced," MacKenzie said, a new cut going down her arm. "And Caius has a sort of 'living legend' status in the minds of the children. When Timothy stabbed Caius, I'm certain he didn't think it would do as much damage as it did."

"I...I did it in front of Prince Felix be-because I ha-hadn't known he was there," Timothy said, terror in his eyes as he tried to remember the story MacKenzie and Alonne had quickly fed him when he woke up before they had been found and taken away. "I-I thought Prince Caius w-was alone...I...I thought h-he would be i-impressed," Timothy said, tears bubbling up as he clutched at his shirt, his whole body shaking. "I...I thought e-everyone would be pr-proud of me..."

He sobbed into his hands, and the Luminary Advisors sighed.

It was obvious hogwash. A dumb, desperate lie to save the kids’ lives for reasons most of the advisors couldn't even understand...but everyone was sticking to the story. And Caius was right: they couldn't put someone on trial for following a royal order. Even if that royal order had almost killed the person who had given it.

-

Caius was being left alone again, which was good. He hadn't seen anyone he actually wanted to see since waking up. No one was allowed into his room besides officials and nurses, and he wasn't allowed out. He felt bored and stifled. No wonder Felix had been driven crazy by this. This sucked.

Taking a deep breath, Caius got up and made another walk around the room. His footing was still super slow, and his chest ached...but it was progress. He hadn't even been able to sit up when he woke up the first time.

He wanted to see his friends. He wanted to check on Felix. He wanted out of this fucking room!

There was a soft knock on the door before Aiichi entered Caius' room, shutting the door behind him. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see the prince walking around his room. He'd erred in his judgment before, but Caius and Fe were a match in that regard--stubborn, willful fools. As most kids were at their age. 

"Prince Caius? If you will hear me out, I would like to speak with you." The boss was in casual clothes, his hair roughly swept to the side and lacking the crown. Putting together the presentation they'd kept up for the Luminaries seemed insignificant to the night's events.

Bowing his head slightly in regret and remorse, he started with something he wanted to get out even if the prince wasn't ready to listen. "Your safety was entrusted to us, and we let you down. There is no excusing that, no turning back the clock. We are not deserving of your trust again, but, if you would allow us a chance, I would like to work with you to ensure that something like this never happens again. Or, at least, to slim the margin."

"I would suppose those measures start with allowing MacKenzie and Alonne entrance to your room." Aiichi offered a small smile to the prince. "I will have a word with your advisors; after all, it seems they need some medical attention too."

There was a spark of anger in golden eyes that were usually so warm and inviting. Except where it came to Felix's safety, this whole mess was under Luminary jurisdiction. It didn't mean Aiichi liked it or would refrain from interfering where he could.

Caius didn't actually recognize the man who had entered his room for a fraction of a second, before bowing hastily the moment his face sparked recognition. "King Aiichi," he greeted, wincing as his wounds whined at him for the sudden, unstretched movement.

Caius listened to the apology, wanting to interrupt and assure that he didn't see this as a failing on the Dicean people’s part, but the comment on his friends distracted him, as Caius' brow furrowed. "What do you mean? I was informed Alonne and MacKenzie weren't injured in the training exercise at all. I thought they had slept through the incident?"

"Just Aiichi, please," the man said almost reflexively before shaking his head with something almost amused. "Training exercise, right."

"Young man, please sit down before you pull something. Believe it or not, stab wounds usually do not heal by being constantly moved around. Though, perhaps you do know better than I." Aiichi sat on the arm of one of the chairs in the room himself, giving Caius a grateful smile. "Despite disturbing my staff, it's a clever plan. We can only protect Timothy and the rest as far as the border. However, becoming assassin trainees is in line with Luminary values and bureaucracy enough that you've given them full protection. Those kids owe you a lot, Prince Caius."

The warmth hardened once more, the boss' eyes turning to stone as he explained what he said earlier. "They did sleep through the incident. However, it seems some folks have a hard time believing anything to be truthful if it isn't beaten out of someone." He'd made sure MacKenzie and Alonne had been provided with first aid and ice packs, but they really could use a proper look-over. And, considering the injuries Caius had come with that weren't stab wounds...maybe he should encourage other Luminaries to take advantage of the medical wing.

"As much as I'd like to for both your sakes, the wedding hasn't been postponed. Or...if it's still happening at all, it won't be." Aiichi sighed quietly, the man looking his age for a moment. "Based on the preliminary talks, it should still go through. This wasn't a cross-nation incident, and since it's a personal matter between you and Timothy, it's mostly up to you. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see a letter from your father arriving soon."

Ah...so that was why they were keeping him separated from his friends. They hadn't wanted to upset him. MacKenzie and Alonne could both handle it, he knew that, but...fuck. He wished they didn't have to.

Maybe...maybe when the Luminary Party left...maybe stuff like this would stop happening to them?

The idea seemed far-fetched. Stuff like this was just how the world worked. But the way Felix, and the king, and the Dicean people all reacted to it...

...maybe that was one part of Caius' heritage he didn't have to keep with him in his new home?

Caius felt his body tense as the king basically openly called out his lie, unable to look him in the face as his eyes drifted to the window. It was sunny out. Too bad his view was just another wall. "I...I don't need the wedding delayed, personally," Caius said, attempting to stand straighter and square his shoulders, pushing on his Luminary Prince of the Stars persona as he pointed his thumb to himself, grinning through the sweat already starting to form on his face from the effort. "I'm actually feeling fine! The injuries looked way worse than they actually were. Timothy's got those little arms, so the dagger actually only went in, like, this much," Caius said, putting his thumb and pointer finger together. "About an inch...well," Caius frowned, widening the finger just a tad, "maybe an inch and a half. I was a little out of it when they told me."

"And the issue with Timothy is settled, as far as I'm concerned. Out of our group of assassin hopefuls, he was easily the most ambitious. I would be surprised if the rest of the group didn't flunk out after a couple weeks of training and just returned to their own lives," Caius said, shrugging as if it made no difference to him. "Part of me just wants to flunk them now and send them back home with their parents, so that ‘Kenzie doesn't have to waste her time trying to train them when clearly only Timothy has any real aptitude for it."

And also Timothy needed to be watched. And also, frankly, probably could use some parents. And maybe a new job now that the war was ending. Luminary's practice of putting orphans to work in specialty fields, like Alonne and MacKenzie had been made to when they were all growing up...sure, it made them really good at what they did, now. But...neither of them had ever really had a choice in becoming an assassin or a detective and had been forced to give up their childhoods in pursuits of the career assigned to them. It had been effective but had always felt...bad. To Caius.

Maybe that was another thing he'd get to leave behind when he lived here.

...okay, now Caius was beginning to feel like a traitor. Certainly not everything his kingdom did was bad! They weren't evil! They were just...hard. Salt of the earth people, or at the very least the kind of people who would salt the earth, which could be a very useful war strategy when used sparingly, and...

Caius frowned, shaking out of his own head. "How is Prince Felix doing, Your Grace?"

Aiichi sent an exasperated look to the prince. "Please rest. You've been given stitches for stab wounds, you have open cuts across your body, a broken rib, not to mention countless welts and bruises... You don't have to be up and ready to go, Caius. Allow yourself time to heal--what you can accomplish afterward will be greater than anything you try while pushing yourself to the brink."

"As for Timothy," Aiichi paused for a moment, smiling at what Caius was actually saying. If he was okay with letting the others go, then they'd be safe going back to Luminary, surely. "If he is to stay in Dicea under Miss Stone's tutelage, we will make more permanent accommodations for him. I need to have a chat with the little go-getter, anyway; may as well ask if there's any room in particular he'd like."

It likely wouldn’t happen again, if Aiichi’s hunch about the boy’s motives were correct, but Timothy would still need a warning that stabbing people wasn’t something you could usually get away with just a slap on the wrist in Dicea. Though, having to stay in Dicea wasn’t what the boy thought was getting off free either.

Aiichi's smile faded slightly when Caius asked after his son, a glimmer of true worry showing through the leader's expression. "He's resting. Mika is looking after him, making sure his condition doesn't worsen and making sure he takes his medicine. Once you recover more, you can go see him, but I'm afraid it's looking like Fe will have to be on bed rest until the wedding day. Thankfully, Fuyuji got help before he stopped breathing, but it was still too close a call."

"Especially when he hasn't slept in days," he grumbled, the exasperation back, but of a more familiar variety. Apparently an issue he dealt with more often than he'd like. The situation hadn't been good for Fe's health period, but if he'd taken things easier than he had he would've been in better shape.

The energy to stand was getting to be a bit too much, so Caius sat down on his bed, his brow furrowed in confusion. He tried to call the king by his name...but it felt too weird, and he chickened out at the last second. "Your Grace," he said, massaging his joints a little. "I don't understand. As far as I've been told, Timothy never actually laid a hand on Prince Felix. So...why is he hurt?"

Aiichi smiled without any happiness. "Fe has a lot of health issues, and he does nothing to make them better. He has a heart condition, and lung issues too. He's prone to fainting, which is what happened in the greenhouse, thanks to chronic low blood pressure. It makes him dizzy and lethargic, and it only gets worse when he gets worked up over something. And even worse since he's anemic, too. He'll faint, get nosebleeds that won't stop, have trouble breathing to the point he can't at all, his heart's even stopped a few times."

"We've developed a medicine that helps his symptoms, but nothing for the root cause. He's better suited for a quiet, peaceful life, but trouble hurtles towards him like a magnet." The fake smile fell away into worry and regret. "...he's so small. So fragile. And so quick to throw away his life for things that have other ways of being solved. He cares so much it clouds his mind."

"He's probably been worried over you, too." Aiichi picked his presence back up, if a little. "Blood makes him feel sick, so seeing you get hurt over and over can't be good for his psyche. He's been so nervous about the wedding too..."

Anemic? Low blood pressure? Dizzy spells, blood loss, lethargy...wow. Caius wouldn't have guessed any of that. Sure, he was...he was definitely on the small side. And, he guessed now that he was thinking about it, he was pretty pale a lot too...skinny on top of that. Huh. Caius could see him growing up a sickly child.

Fragile, though? That was... a weird word for it. Felix was a lot of things, but fragile wasn't exactly the first thing that came to-

Caius's eyes lit up, the lightbulb going off in his head.

"Oh!" he said, without thinking about it, looking over at Aiichi with simple, blunt observance as he asked,

"Is that why you locked him up here?"

"Locked him up?" Aiichi repeated, raising an eyebrow before laughing a little. "Ah, he's probably talked all around it to you, hasn't he. Fe is very good at seeing the world the way he wants to--makes him a visionary, good at thinking up creative solutions! But can blind him a little when he sees things he doesn't like."

Not to mention that Fe was absolutely one for dramatics. The number of times Aiichi had seen his son storm away over nothing was too many to count. 

"Ever since he was little, we've taken into account his limitations. Made sure he'd always be able to rest, to find help if he felt faint or had trouble breathing. Sometimes that means he can't go out exploring in the city, and, I've lived through more of those tantrums than you'd ever imagine." He smiled nostalgically as if recalling such an event. Agreeing on a trip out when a chronically sick and immuno-deficient person was already coughing and wobbly would just be insanity, and Aiichi was sure his son could see that too, even if he only admitted it to himself. There were always other days Felix could go out...even if he’d only known his son to lock himself up in his room and sulk.

"He can't be as active as his peers, so we've made sure he can live a full life close by. He's already such a wonderful leader, and so many of our friends have been helped thanks to him. There's no doubt that when I step back, our friends can rest easy knowing they're in good hands."

Caius frowned, not really sure what to do with that. It...it really did sound reasonable, the way the king described it. Any parent would worry about their child if just stressing out too much ended up with them being bedridden. It made sense...

...but Caius couldn't get that image of Felix from last night out of his head. The sheer despair in his voice as he screamed that his father wished he hadn't even been born...

Caius wasn't sure what to call what he had seen last night. At university, he had been explained the worldwide concept of PTSD, and then informed that it was just a fancy way to explain cowards running away from battles...but everything he had seen last night? All of it had matched the symptoms of that imaginary disease to a T.

He didn't know if it was a wise idea to say that to the king though, not with things as they were. It was just speculation, as Alonne would like to say. Maybe Felix really just was prone to making a big deal out of reasonable things? Caius knew he had felt that way about the prince that first sparring match...

...but he didn't feel that way about the event anymore...

"I understand, Your Grace...but," Caius said, rubbing the back of his neck as he asked, feeling stupid. "Does the prince have any friends?"

Caius's next question was...surprising. So much so that Aiichi just blinked for a moment in a familiar expression before laughing kindly. "Of course! All of Dicea are our friends, and, on a more in-person level, Fe is friends with everyone who comes to the castle. He hit it off rather well with you and MacKenzie and Alonne, didn't he? He can be very charming when he wants to be."

"Ah, he was particularly close with Ike, though that's a given since he had been Fe's nanny since he was a toddler. I bet he's excited to see him again--Ike volunteered to help the war effort pretty early on. Other than that, he’d been close with Lake, and he’s struck up..." Aiichi trailed for not more than a second, quickly amending what he’d been about to say. He wouldn’t exactly call what Fe had with some of the others a friendship. Fe really was sweet, but he could be a cold and rude person at times. “Well, he’s friendly enough with others who live here.”

Caius just stared at this man. Dumb-founded.

Random citizens. His nanny. And two official servants to the prince that was required to marry him? People who lived in the castle?

Out of twenty years of life experience, those were the only examples this father, who appeared so invested in his son, could recall when asked?

What about childhood friends? Boyfriends or girlfriends (it was pretty late in the game to ask, but Caius actually still had no idea up to this point what kind of person Felix found attractive)? The friendly rival whose name becomes synonymous with yours because you both drove each other to hit so many milestones?

Nothing? No names came to mind besides the nanny, a servant, and the three brand new people in Felix's life who had, up until the night before, been pretty certain Felix hated them??

'Very good at seeing the world the way he wants to', huh? Seems like that was an inherited trait.

Caius wanted to ask more questions, but it almost felt...pointless. He could see it in King Aiichi's face now. The same look his own father got when confronted with 'impossible' news. But instead of it being about how, no, my king, we can't retake the valley, the numbers are just unfeasible, it was instead, no, my king, your son didn't grow up to be a well-adjusted adult by you stopping all meaningful social and emotional, and yeah, physical, growth through conflict and confrontation.

Maybe that was one good thing Caius could feel about his own kingdom. They might beat you down, throw you away, destroy you...but no one was ever raised to be helpless. You were expected to fight. You were expected to win.

Felix'd been set up to lose from the beginning.

"I understand, Your Grace," Caius said because he did now. Then he stared at his hands a bit, before saying. "A...Aiichi. I understand that my presence here is new and that I have a long way to go before I establish trust. And I want to earn that trust! Which is why I'd like to talk to you about this now, while it's just the two of us. You see...I've been struggling to pick a wedding gift for your son. Pets, items, gestures...the more I get to know him, the less likely I think any of those things will impress him. So...I think I've found the perfect gift idea for him...but..."

Caius looked up from his hands, unwittingly giving the king a hard look. "...I think I need your permission beforehand to give it to him. Because I want to establish trust."

"I'm always open to ideas, Caius. It's true that we don't really know each other, but from everything you've said and done so far..." Aiichi smiled warmly at the young man. "I want to end this war, yes. But you truly seem like the kind of person I would be happy to see standing beside my son. What I said during your proposal wasn't all just politics."

Well, it had been at the time, but a person who managed to drum up a contingency plan on their sickbed to save the lives of children against stubborn, callous fools? That was a person Aiichi was happy to welcome into their family.

"And about a gift?" he laughed, voice softening. "If you asked Fe, he'd probably roll his eyes and say he doesn't need anything--he really does take after his mother. I don't know if you've gotten the chance to see it, but our observatory was my wedding gift to Mia. She was an astronomer, you see. A brilliant scientist, a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world that I've only ever seen matched in Fe. She would fall asleep in the university's observatory all the time--some students started a rumor about a ghost in the school for a time because of her."

"She accused me of just wanting to make sure she'd sleep at home once in a while when I showed her." The man was fond, recalling the story. "Maybe it was a little true. But seeing her light up when we opened the wing was my true gift."

Sighing a little, Aiichi shook his head. "I really am becoming an old man, rambling about the past like that. Sure, what sort of thing do you have in mind, Caius?"

Caius smiled through the story, and while it was a good one, his nerves didn't really allow him to enjoy it. Now that he had thought of the gift, he was actually positive it was the only thing that Felix would really get any joy out of, based on everything Caius knew about him now. Which was funny, because honestly, it was probably the first thing Felix had hinted about himself, back when he was Phe...

"A sense of curiosity and wonder about the world," Caius laughed, clenching his hands together. "What a perfect point to bring up since that's the crux of it right there."

"After the wedding, I would like to take Prince Felix on a trip," Caius said, the smile sticking in place. "To the Ganron Kingdom."

Aiichi's smile froze. His first instinct was to say no and end the discussion there. Ganro was...an ally. Parts of it were quite nice, actually, and Aiichi knew that first-hand. And he knew better than to take rumors as truth. (Even if it was turning out that some of the rumors he’d brushed off about Luminary were becoming more truth than fiction.) But Fe had never been out of the city, let alone the country, and with how secretive Ganro was about their medical practices he had no way to gauge how his son would be able to get help if something happened...

However, first instincts were rarely helpful.

Fe was twenty, now. Maybe it was time for him to see the world with a little more urging.

"Not right after the wedding," Aiichi laid down first. "There will be a lot to do right after for administrative matters, which, if that were it, I could handle with the others fine. But tensions will still be high for some time. I will ask that you wait a month at least."

"Also, you need to take a healer with you. Who it is I will leave up to your and Fe's discretion, but if he has a flare-up on the road, there needs to be someone there who can help him." He didn't like this, but Fe was an adult. One that was about to get married for the sake of his country. If he could make a sacrifice like that, Aiichi could advocate for this.

Fixing Caius with a heavy, serious gaze, Aiichi put a hand over the prince's balled-up ones. "You promised to before, but I need that promise again, Caius. Please take care of Felix."

Caius's smile went from strained and forced...to genuine joy. He hadn't thought it would be that easy. He had expected harsh words, maybe even harsh hands. After all, they were alone, and if Caius complained to anyone, who would even care? He clutched at his pant legs, eyes shining as his grin practically split his face in two.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Prince Caius shot to his feet and, not even feeling his injuries now, took the king's hands and clasped them between his own as Caius fell to his knees, bowing his head on the clasped hands. "King Aiichi, I swear on my life, my kingdom, and my bloodline. I will take care of Prince Felix. He will experience wonders, adventures, and still, he will come to no harm. And when he returns, he will be tired, tan, and happy. I swear it to you."

Caius brought his head up, grinning up at the king with simple, pure devotion. "I will not let you down."

Caius remembered, too late, that the Dicean people found physical gestures like these unsettling, and remembering this, he blushed, letting go of the king's hand and standing up, taking a few steps back as he murmured a small, "Sorry," looking down at the ground as he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he looked up, grinning at the king as he said, "I'm already bursting to tell him, but I'm going to try to keep it a secret ‘til our wedding day. Since it is a wedding gift after all. I humbly ask you to hold it close to your chest until then as well, my king. He's..." Caius' heart soared, "I really think he's gonna like it!"

Aiichi startled at the display the young man put on, immediately trying to help Caius back up. He'd just conceded to sit down; what if he reopened something?! However...this was a display of gratitude and sincerity, wasn't it. He remembered Hyde talking about something like this.

While it was...a little uncomfortable, for someone to lower themself like this, Aiichi felt reassured to his core. Caius would not let any harm come to Fe. No way, no how. Of all the reputations of the Momento family that made their way to Dicea...they were truly lucky for Caius to be the one to join their family. Mia would've been so happy...

Aiichi gave the young man a soft, genuine smile as he rose, waving the apology off. "I don't know about tan, but I'll hold you to the others. Fe tends to freckle rather than color."

"Thank you, Caius. For your drive to make my son happy. For making sure he will be safe. I look forward to working with you in the years to come."