Aligned For You

 Chapter Four

The next morning, Julian went to Alan and Alice again, begging for help.

“Just one more day,” he said to his two friends, both of them looking at him with various levels of total exasperation. “I just want one more day. I promise I’ll be back a little after lunch, just like yesterday. Come on guys, I’m just asking for a few hours. Consider it a wedding present!”

As Alan stammered something out, scratching his face as he tried awkwardly to collect his thoughts amongst Julian’s desperate barrage of pleading, Alice squared up, a scowl on her face. “Don’t try that on us again, your wedding present was running around in the woods for hours by ourselves while committing treason to let you go off on your own. Julian, we’re meant to present you to the Dicean Royal Family tomorrow. What if something happens to you today?”

Julian rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to give Alice his most charming smile. “Well, nothing happened to me yesterday-“

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it was safe, Julian,” Alan pointed out, his rebuttal like a bolt through Julian’s excuses. “You understand we’re not just talking accidents. This war has lasted so long that people have grown up on this war; even if it’s become common knowledge that you’re coming to create a peace treaty, which there’s no guarantee that word’s gotten around yet, there will be people in this kingdom who don’t want peace by this point. They’d kill you just to stop the peace talks.”

“…who wouldn’t want the war to stop?” Julian asked, genuinely disturbed at the idea. He couldn’t fathom the idea. Wasn’t the eventual point of all war to just...stop fighting at some point?

“Imagine if yesterday, literally yesterday, you got a letter saying that your older brother was killed in the name of the Dicean Kingdom. And today, you met the guy who was supposed to stop the war, before your brother’s body had even been put into the ground. Would you feel, personally, like the war was good as done?” Alice said, her voice harsh, but the concern in her eyes genuine as she tried to make her prince and oldest friend understand the situation. “That’s the literal situation hundreds of people in that city right now are experiencing. People are dying in that way every day. There will be battles and battalions who haven’t gotten word of the cease-fire until weeks after the peace treaties have been signed. I was sent here to watch over you for a reason, Julian. This is going to be dangerous territory for you for a long time.”

Julian bit his lip, worrying his fingernails as he listened. He wondered…he wondered if Phe had lost anyone to the war yet…

Heh. The war could be older than Phe was. What a strange thought.

Maybe they were right. Maybe he should stay. Forget about the kid in town and face his responsibilities. There was still so much to prep before tomorrow. He had lines to memorize, negotiation points he had to be fully ready to understand and answer upon tomorrow, names and titles to memorize before he ever got to the court…

…no. No, he wanted his last day. He wanted to go teach Phe how to hold a sword. All that stuff could wait for this afternoon. The morning was his.

He argued with Alice and Alan for another twenty minutes before he used his trump card--he got on all fours, bowed his forehead into the dirt, and refused to stand back up until they agreed. If anyone had seen the prince bowing like that to what essentially amounted to royal escorts, on an official level, it would be Alan and Alice who had to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions. Defeated, they agreed to cover for him again.

‘Borrowing’ two, mostly decorative, but more importantly light, fencing swords from General Yuu’s weapon display, Julian grabbed his horse and headed to town. When he got to the market, the first thing he did was head to the apple stand to pay back the apple salesman, who seemed pleasantly surprised to see Julian had kept his word. Jules, today, was wearing a cape.

Thankfully, he had gotten out of dinner, but that resulted in a different consequence. The boss himself had shown up to Felix's door the next day, forcing himself in when Felix warily opened the door and went on a winding speech about how proud he was to see the floor for the first time in years, wow, he must've been working so hard, taking up the entire day, not breaking even to have dinner with friends and family.

Especially at such a tumultuous time. When they should be refining the treaty and analyzing stories of the members of the procession to figure out the points and attitudes they should present to each to make things go as smoothly as possible. There were lives on the line, Fe! Glad to see you're taking this seriously!

It was all he could do not to scream at the man sometimes.

As such, Felix was a little late returning to the market, but he figured it was better than not showing up at all. However...he probably wouldn't be able to promise another 'tomorrow'. It was risky enough disappearing for a chunk of the day, and then once the group from Umina showed up...no way. These would be his last hours of freedom for...the foreseeable future.

However, his foul mood was turned on its head once he spotted Kai. Wearing...

Bursting out in disbelieving laughter, Felix ran up to the man almost like a mirror of the day before. "What on earth are you wearing?!"

Julian jumped a little bit, startled by his young friend's sudden appearance. Man, Phe was fast. However, upon being asked the question, Julian gave a smug, cocky grin, before brandishing his arm out as the red cape flourished behind him, caught just right by the wind. "Do you like it? It's my sparring cape. I won it off an Uminan guard in a poker tournament about a year ago. It's cool, right?!" Julian said excitedly.

This was all true, by the way. The red cape was a staple in the Uminan Guardsman Uniform, and Julian, a collector of many fancy and fascinating capes, had jumped at the chance to bet for it instead of silver. He had thought Phe might get a kick both out of the clothing and the story behind it.

"Truth is, I think the guard may have felt a little bad for me and lost on purpose because before the cape, when it was coin on the line, he put me through the wringer. But either way, it was fun to get! Got him on a pair of tens," Julian bragged as if he hadn't just admitted he probably hadn't won by his own merit. He then showed Phe the two fencing swords he had brought with him.

"What do you think? Think you can lift it well enough? Go ahead, take it," Julian said, passing one of the fencing swords to Phe with a grin.

It was ridiculous but...somehow it seemed to fit the man. He was kind of ridiculous too. Even in the way he acquired it. Felix's eyes widened a bit, voice hushing. "You've been to Umina, too?"

He'd be meeting quite a few Uminan people very soon, but it was still something of a shocking statement. Both for talking about the country very few people had even an uncaring opinion about, and, more personally for Felix, the fact that Kai had been able to travel to three of the four countries in Basacta. How many more did selling horses take him to?!

Shaking his head, Felix rolled his eyes. "You look absurd, but judging just from yesterday, that seems to be the norm for you. Really, I've never seen anyone style their hair like that." He put a hand on his head and fanned out his fingers almost like he was mimicking a chicken. And maybe made a few 'bwak!'-ing noises to sell it. Who was to say?

However, Felix's smile froze as Kai thrust a sword out at him, despite his excitement about wielding a sword. "Hey... Maybe don't pull weapons out in the middle of a market? Unless this is a terrible plan to pull me in to rob someone."

"C'mon, I didn't get to show you the park yesterday; you can show me all your undoubtedly pristine sword-skills there." And, in a park and not a place of peaceful commerce, no one would call on the guardforce. He'd seen kids play-fighting and old masters practicing there before, it'd be fine.

Gently pushing Kai's outstretched hand back towards him, Felix grabbed his sleeve once more to lead him to the park, one of the more spacious areas in the city, separated from the hustle and bustle by full trees outlining nearly the whole thing. Likely the trees that bloomed pink in the spring, as Felix had described in his bogus story.

Choosing a spot away from anyone enjoying the nice day or any of the public art displayed sporadically, Felix held his hand out. "Okay, don't think we'd cause a brawl out here."

Julian laughed awkwardly as the reason for Phe's concern finally occurred to him. It wasn't that Jules was dumb, necessarily. He had been getting good marks in university before being suddenly pulled from his studies, and he was well-liked by his peers and authorities in life for good reason, being good, one on one, with people.

But there were certain things, growing up as a prince, that he had just never had to think about. It was hard for him to get into any serious misunderstandings, such as being seen with a weapon, since it was so rare for him to meet anyone who didn't already know him by at least his title, and if they were disturbed by anything he did, could speak quietly to one of his always nearby aides, guards, advisors, or escorts to get clarity on the situation. His entourage managed him, so to speak. He wasn't cruel enough to take advantage of these privileges intentionally, but it would be naive to say he never unwittingly did so, by sheer ignorance alone.

"Sorry, that was dumb of me," Julian admitted, before giving Phe a thumbs up. "Good watching out, Phe! That could have gone badly, actually."

Oh no, imagine if the guardsmen had been called on him...meeting Prince Felix from a local jail was one hell of a way to start negotiations.

Still, crisis averted! The sword still sheathed, Julian stood straight and squared, putting on a serious expression. "Alright, Phe, lesson number one. Don't be afraid of your sword. Catch!" he said, gently tossing the sword to his young charge.

Kai had said that being on the road, it befit him to have a weapon and know how to use it. Still kind of airheaded of him to brandish it in the middle of a market, but understandable to a point. People were allowed to have weapons, of course, but no one really carried any around on a day-to-day basis. To play or spar, sure, or even stopping somewhere before going hunting, but running errands normally? It'd just get in the way, and things were generally peaceful. There were thieves and rowdy folk just like anywhere, but the guardforce were able to take care of things before they escalated, usually. And while the guards carried weapons--just in case, and non-lethal ones--they rarely used them, and when they were off duty they were unarmed.

Another thing different in the greater world, he supposed. But he was slowly learning more! Person by person!

Felix easily caught the sword as it was tossed to him, just staring at it for a moment in awe. He was holding a sword. He almost expected a guard to pop out of nowhere and bat it out of his hands before hauling him back to the castle, but there was nothing but general chatter quiet on the wind. He was holding a sword...

Trying to stifle a genuinely delighted smile, Felix held the saber at its grip, looking back up at Kai with his other hand lightly on the sheath. "So do I get to unsheath it, or we gonna do the whole 'respect the sword, treat it as an extension of the self, don't use it against regular people' spiel first?"

"Nah, respect the sword is usually lesson number four. You know, after you've managed to cut some part of yourself open bad enough to scare you," Julian said, unsheathing his own sword and throwing the scabbard to the ground, putting himself in a somewhat exaggerated version of a starting pose.

"And considering the dig at my hair earlier, I think I'm okay letting you learn that lesson the hard way," Julian said with a wink, twirling his sword teasingly. "Bold words for a guy who seems to only want to cut every other strand of his hair, by the way."

Ah. He hadn't considered that. ...eh, he could make something up if he got hurt. Sometimes he'd land from the gate wrong or get scratched up during his forays and would have to explain it away. These were practice swords, so it couldn’t be anything more than that, and those he knew how to handle.

Unsheathing the sword, Felix looked at Kai's stance and...didn't copy him. That didn't seem right. Instead, he just widened his stance for optimum balance and movement, holding the sword in front of him. With both hands. Because, even with how dainty the sword looked, it was still heavy enough that he doubted he'd be able to do any sort of precise movement with one.

Not that this was serious in any way.

"Hey, I look cute! It highlights my natural charm--unless you think looking like a duck butt is the kind of charm you want to enhance." The bane of Denji's existence, and one of the few actions of rebellion he was allowed to have. Not that it really mattered, since for any official appearances he had to wear his hair up. Ugh. He was going to be pulling pins out of his hair for the next month after the next few days.

Not knowing where to start, Felix waited for Kai to move. Parrying was just...moving a blade away, right? He could do that.

Julian watched as Phe hefted up the sword, taking note of all the little openings. His stance wasn't...well, okay, it wasn't right, but it was clear Phe had seen people do it right before and was doing his best to mimic what he had seen. It honestly looked close to the kind of stance a Dicean soldier might have, based on the scant amount of intel Julian had been privy to.

Yeah...not the best memories.

But that didn't matter! If anything, it was a relief to see just how freaking cute Phe looked trying to do it, working out his footing here in an open, sunny park. The air was casual and friendly, and Julian was enjoying every second of it.

Alright, but first thing first. Julian had to make Phe understand exactly what he was dealing with so he wouldn't get cocky and end up actually hurting himself messing around. This was how Julian had learned 'respect for the sword' when he was taught, and while it was scary, it was a good early lesson to not lose a finger someday.

"So, first lesson, don't be afraid of your sword. It only does what you let it do, after all." Julian said, relaxing his stance a little into a more natural starting pose. "Second lesson-"

Julian rushed forward, using the length of the sword itself to make up for the distance as, using the weight of his swing, he knocked Phe's sword upwards, letting it ring through the air. Then, while Phe was still getting his bearings, Julian swept his leg out, using his foot to catch Phe's ankle and send him into the dirt. As Phe fell, the sword came back down, almost as if in slow motion, and Julian grabbed it from the hilt.

As soon as Phe's back hit the ground, Julian stepped forward, putting the end of both his blade and Phe’s to a few inches safely away from Phe's neck, but he knew from Phe's perspective on the ground would seem terrifyingly close.

"-be very afraid of your opponent. The swordsman in front of you can also make your sword do things you don't want it to do, like, for instance, change sides. But, if I had really wanted to hurt you, I could have pushed your sword back into you, knocked it into the dirt, or just straight up yanked it from your hands. Your weapon is safest when it's either sheathed or not moving. The second you take it out, it's a danger to you and everyone around you."

Julian let the swords stay there for a few seconds before smiling warmly, taking the swords away from Phe's neck and letting them drop onto the grass. Kneeling, he opened up his right-hand palm and, with a cheesy grin, showed Phe a long, thin line on his palm.

"Also, lesson number three: don't show off with your sword skills unless you're trying to seduce someone or win a bet. I tried that exact same move on one of my friends when I was 16, and instead of catching the sword by the handle, I caught it by the blade. Almost cut off three of my fingers. Cried for days. It was pretty dumb. Though as you can see, I never really learned my lesson," Julian said, offering the same hand to help Phe up.

In a moment, Felix realized that he'd made a mistake. Within a second Kai had relaxed, and anyone who could relax into a fighting stance was someone he stood no chance against. People like that had a plan, and the only defense he'd been told and taught to do against people who had a plan was to thrash and scream as loud as he could.

Obviously not something he could do here.

He could only barely brace himself before Kai dashed forward and--knocked the sword right out of his hands?? Felix stumbled back a little, and, knowing better than to avert his eyes from an opponent, decided to--

"Wa-ahh!!" Maybe becoming a trend, the breath was knocked out of him as Felix hit the ground, gaze averted regardless and to...the sword falling down right at him. At once, an entire scheme played out in his head.

Kai had been to Umina, was wearing their clothes. If he'd only pretended to be airheaded, nice, and willing to talk about whatever Felix brought up... Bringing up swords, convincing him to take up a lesson then taking the chance to...ruin everything...

He felt lightheaded, eyes burning, but...the sword never touched down. Kai caught it--and then immediately held both to his neck. Felix had never wanted to go down with tears but he just...felt so much like an idiot! After all the times he'd been told to stay in the castle, every time someone said he was too small and too weak and too dumb to go out on his own, and for some selfish curiosity, he was...

...being taught a lesson.

Felix shakily pushed himself up into a sitting position, heart still pounding away and making his head buzz. A lesson. He'd thought... But of course. Who would ever believe in him?

Glaring up at the man, Felix smacked his hand away and got up. "If you're just going to waste my time, don't waste yours. I have stuff to do, put it off to come out."

He whirled around in a teary huff, stomping off towards the castle.

Julian was shocked as his hand was knocked aside, the prince not even recognizing the look of hurt and then anger on the kid’s face until Phe had pulled himself up, storming off. "Whoa, what? Hey, come on now, Phe!" Julian said, having at the very least the foresight to grab the swords from the dirt before following his young companion, who was just so damn quick.

Hoping his voice might carry faster than his legs would, Julian shouted out, "Phe, I wasn't trying to...hey! Atua give me strength," Julian muttered to himself before shouting, "Look, would you stop pouting!? If you can't handle a little teasing, you'll never be ready for any sort of real-"

Julian saw the looming shadows of the castle the more he followed Phe across the park (he hadn't realized they had traveled this far into the city). His first glimpse of the building, distant as it was, stopped him in his tracks, ice running through his veins. He hadn't really been conscious of it, but he had been avoiding actually looking at the castle until now, though it was partly visible everywhere in town. But from this spot, you could almost see the entire thing in detail, and it was a cold dose of reality as Julian stopped shouting, suddenly extremely aware of other people in the park.

He shouldn't be out here. What had he been thinking? This was so stupidly dangerous. Fuck, he had even stolen some of his general’s swords to come out and mess around with a kid, who he had managed to send off in tears about five seconds into hanging out. What was he doing out here??

He watched Phe's retreating form, feeling awful, and also kinda pissed. He just...hadn't expected the kid to be that weak. It was like he had never been tussled with before. It was infuriating, and also made Julian feel like some kind of dirtbag, which just made him angrier.

Afraid to call any more attention to himself by literally chasing him down with a sword, but unwilling to not try to at least patch things up, Julian called out one last time. He meant to say, "Phe, I'm sorry!" He meant to say, "I'm not running after you!" He meant to say, "I need you to come back to talk this out!"

What he actually said, in his haste and anger, was: "Phe, I-fucking, I'm not!-- Phe, I DEMAND YOU RETURN!"

The second the order barked out of his mouth (and man, if that hadn't sounded exactly like his father), Jules could have gutted himself. Nope. Nope. That wasn't the right thing to say. Fuck. Maybe Phe was too far away to hear that. God damn it.

Felix tried to block out Kai's voice, not looking back or slowing down. His eyes were still teary, but he refused to cry, refused to acknowledge how much it hurt. Not the actual being sent to the ground part--he'd done that to himself plenty.

It hurt to be proved wrong, and in such an in-your-face way, that he really was better off locked up in the castle. To see how much he was really putting at risk by sneaking out. His theory about Kai being some disrupter aiming to nullify the treaty was far-fetched, he knew that even now, but if he had been some sort of spy? Felix would be dead for nothing. And, wearing Uminan clothing, the country would be blamed and surely all negotiations of peace would be shattered.

It hurt that he thought he'd found someone that actually liked him, not venerated him as the heir or was sworn to protect him. That respected him as his own person, wouldn't think of him in only what he couldn't do, and wouldn't even give him the chance to try.

He had half a mind that Kai had been hired by the boss just to teach him a lesson. 

Sniffling as a stab went through his chest, Felix scrubbed his eyes, gritting his teeth as if he could drown out the shouting behind him through sheer will. It was impossible to drown out the bellow that followed, however.

It was enough to actually stop him, and Felix half-turned, a disbelieving and disgusted expression on his face. He 'demanded'? Sending a withering (if wet) glare back, Felix took a breath and finally responded.

"GO FUCK YOURSELF, FUCKFACE!!!!"

Oh, for the love of-

"Fine! Whatever! Go have your tantrum!" Julian shouted, resisting the urge to stomp his legs into the dirt as his own fury nipped and spat acid in his stomach. He noted some open staring from a family having a picnic not far away, the mother protectively drawing her small daughter closer to herself upon noticing him glancing their way as the father squared his shoulders, and Julian reminded himself that he had to breathe. Fuck. He was the one losing his temper.

Julian glared at Phe, who seemed like a vibrating little ball of rage, and after a deep, steadying breath, Julian tsked, turning away from him with a flourish of his cape. "What a disappointment," Julian said, a tad too loud to even pretend to himself like he wasn't trying to openly dig at the kid, his face hot with a mixture of fury and embarrassment.

Great job, Jules. You beat up a kid you wanted to mentor, made him cry, and then resorted to name-calling. Super heroic, man. Absolutely the savior this kingdom needs. Fuck.

Not willing to look back, Julian waved his hand above his shoulder, forcing his shoulders to relax as if he wasn't bothered by any of this anymore. "Your stance was wrong because the actual fighters you've seen standing like that are using heavier swords than a fencing sword. That stance was also why I was able to knock it out of your hands so easily. I don't know. Read about it in a book if you want more info. I'm leaving town today. Nice meeting you, kid."

Not even sure if Phe had stuck around to listen to any of that, Julian walked off, feeling stupid and boorish and immature. Great. Fantastic. Julian Momento, Legendary Prince of the Stars! Makes small children cry! Fantastic.

Definitely a plant from the boss. With every word from Kai's mouth, he could practically hear the dozens all saying the same things throughout the years. Useless. He was useless, only good to put a ring on his finger and let someone else do the work.

He hadn't calmed down much at all during his walk back to the castle, a couple tears escaping and marking angry tracks down his face, his shaking not helping him in any way climb the fence. Taking the back way to his room, he was stopped--or...not really stopped as she did a double-take and quickly followed him--by, unfortunately, a guard that didn't mind her own business as much as Katsuki.

"Wha--hey! Felix? Prince Fe, what happened?" Lake's boots clacked loudly against the floor, but Felix didn't slow down. "Do I need to beat someone up? Just say the word! Should I get...uh..."

He didn't even care about the way she trailed off with a wince, almost to his room. "Leave me alone. Go flirt with Nazumi or something, I don't care, just fuck off."

The guardswoman stopped at the door slammed in her face, a ticked-off expression on her face that returned to worry as she sighed. That was one hell of a bad mood. Hopefully, he'd be able to rein it in before tomorrow...

Doing as asked, Lake left the irritable prince to his sulking, warning the rest of the staff to tread carefully. He did eventually leave his room looking more put-together, expression blank and serious as he joined the final planning sessions. In the night before everything would change, Lake and Denji shared a pot of tea.

"It was bad, Den. He was crying, but not that bawling thing he does. Maybe the stress is getting to him, but...I've never been able to read him; none of us have. I wish Ike was here..." The green-haired woman sighed, swirling her mug.

"It's better he gets it out now and not, like, in front of the Uminans," the royal stylist scoffed. "Or tomorrow morning. Felix's a royal pain in the ass to get into regalia on a good day." There was a beat, Denji's mouth twisting as the one-time ‘dad’ of the castle was mentioned before shrugging. "Well, if things go well, the war will end, and Ike can come cartwheeling back. He'll probably smother Felix since he'd have missed the wedding."

They sat back, something of a smirk hidden by their teacup. "I wonder how it'll feel for Prince Julian, seeing his husband be a fluffy ball of love for his nanny. Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if Felix demanded that they maintain a six-foot area of distance at all times."

That made Lake chuckle, and the two royal staff members soon finished their talk and tea, arguably one of the most important mornings in recent history looming ahead.

Julian walked into the tent mid-conversation as Alan and Alice were quietly making their own plans for the events tomorrow. As Jules’ closest confidants, but also as the number one person the royal family depended on to suss out spies and the first call the king made whenever he wanted someone to have an 'accident', respectively, Alan and Alice walked a tightrope between fulfilling their duties to the kingdom and their desires to be there for Julian on a day to day basis, and it was honestly an exhausting, full-time effort.

All this to say that when Julian walked into the tent, went straight to Alice and threw his head into her lap saying, "I'm ready to die, Alice. Just make it quick. I don't wanna see it coming," their first reaction was open exasperation, rather than real concern. Julian could be...a little extra. A lot extra. When he wanted to be.

"Why am I killing you then?" Alice asked, Alan rolling up the blueprints to the palace that he had managed to obtain for her quickly, while Julian was distracted. "What have you done, your highness?"

"What? Already with the 'your highness'?" Julian said, openly distressed as he sat back up, looking between his two friends. "Are you mad at me? Why are you mad at me? Why is everyone mad at me?!"

"Julian, she's kidding," Alan soothed, as Alice just shot him a dark look. It was probably best not to point out the strong-arming Julian had done to them that morning that Alice was still fuming about an hour later. "We were expecting you to be gone longer than this, though...did something happen?"

"I'm the worst. I'm a dishonorable wreck. I'm lucky I'm a prince because my stupid temper would have never allowed me to be a noble knight!" Julian said, this time turning to Alan, reaching out and grabbing his friend's hand, "Alan, I can't keep my promise to make you a squire! I'm so sorry, man! I'm a disgrace!"

"I...don't want to be a squire, Julian..." Alan pointed out for the millionth time, sympathetically patting Julian’s hands, which were wrapped tightly around his arm, "...but you probably haven't disgraced yourself. Tell us what happened."

"I swear, Julian, if you've done something to put this treaty at risk," Alice growled, her eyes fierce as energy seemed to almost radiate off of her. If Julian had messed up somewhere on her watch...

Julian looked at his friends’ serious expressions and sighed. He needed to pull it together. He was clearly actually worrying them. Straightening himself up, Julian took a breath, crossing his arms as he reminded himself that, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't always just act like a mewling idiot, even around his friends. He was their prince. He needed to act like it.

"...I think I may have made a 12-year-old cry," Jules muttered. "Well, 12 is low-balling it. 12-16 range."

"That's a heck of a jump, Julian. You can't tell the difference between a pre-teen and a teenager?" Alan said with a little hesitant smirk, scratching at his cheek.

"You wouldn't understand without seeing him. I changed my mind about how old he was every couple of minutes, and honestly, I still don't have a solid idea. But at that last minute, he could have been 10, for how he was acting! A total child!" Julian huffed...before deflating, rubbing the back of his neck. "Which is probably why I should have been gentler with him. I may have pushed him in the dirt."

Both of his friends gave him long, long...long looks.

"It made sense at the time! Anyway, he got upset, I acted like an asshole, I don't know, you guys. I can't even placate a random commoner kid. How am I supposed to possibly endear myself to those vultures in the castle?!"

"You not calling them vultures would probably be a solid start," Alan pointed out, as Alice huffed.

"You're an idiot," Alice said. There was no argument. "But you're a good idiot. Your whole job tomorrow is just to be...good. Your aides, your advisers, me and Alan, we can handle any actual problems that occur tomorrow, but you? You just have to go and be the thing you always are: the best of us. Be the representation that the Uminan Kingdom needs you to be, make friends with your future husband, restore peace." She looked away, a small blush in her features, a clear sign of her embarrassment as she finished with clear sentiment. "Easy, for the Legendary Prince of the Stars."

A pause. Another pause. Outside of the tent, the entourage was still prepping and preparing for the final leg of the trip, where they would officially enter the city, heading to the castle. No doubt there was a Dicean representative somewhere speaking to the secretaries, working out the exact details. The smell of freshly made bread was lingering.

Julian laughed. "Alright. You're right! You're always right, Ali! I can do this! I may not have acted like I should have today, but tomorrow is another opportunity to be a star! I'll go sweep that prince right off his feet, impress the boss, and be the hero that ends the war! How hard can it be!? With you guys to support me, I know I can do it!"

The 'Uminan Prince' persona right back in place, Julian let out a triumphant laugh, putting one hand on his hip and pumping one hand into the air, a picture-perfect pose of a Hero in Triumph! ...and then he let the pose drop to give his friends a genuinely earnest smile. "It's gonna be fine. Right, guys?"

If his friends’ replies weren't as enthusiastic as his, Julian didn't notice or mind. Tomorrow was the big day! His moment to make history! He wasn't going to let everyone down!

Putting Phe now far from his mind, Julian insisted on drinks to celebrate. It was another long night.