The prince and his three knights: Chapter 5

[lilly0]

Title: The prince and his three knights: Chapter 5
Pairing: It's going to be a Jun-pairing, but I don't want to spoil it yet. It's either: Sakumoto, Matsumiya or Juntoshi. Jun/Aiba as brothers, and Aiba might get his own pairing.
Rating: up to R
Genre: royality!AU, romance, a bit fantasy,
Plot: To seal the new peace agreement Prince Jun is handed over as a gift to the neighbouring kingdom, the Highlands of Ice. There is a legend surrounding Jun and his sisters and brothers, namely that they hold a secret power which will only be awakened to the fullest when their owner falls in love.
Tired of reigning the Highlands of the Ice the king announces that one of his three sons - Sho, Satoshi and Kazunari - will inherit the throne. As all of them are good men, loyal and talented, he decides to put a challenge to it: Whoever wins the young mysterious prince's heart will marry him and get the throne.*
*Important sidenote: I will not make a love triangle or anything alike. Once Jun decided, he decided. Also Sho and the others won't play dirty.
Note: This is going to be really romantic, I promise :D and I promise you all (!) that the brothers won't treat each other like sh*t. It's super fun to write this! Please tell me what you think <3

To avoid a ruckus and any diplomatic issues Koichi decides to immediately accept Masaki, Jun’s brother, as a visitor. It is unusual for a prince of the neighbour country to just come here without any proper announcement, but since they signed the peace agreement it was not forbidden to do so either.

 

To Koichi’s surprise though Masaki greets him very respectfully, bowing even and voicing his apologies for his sudden visit. He looks exactly like he imagined a member of the Luminous Fields to look like. Tall, tanned skin, brown hair, a soft and gentle face. Now his face is graced with worry though.

 

Koichi instantly relaxes. This guy doesn’t look dangerous at all. Nagase visibly relaxes too.

 

“Well,” Koichi scans the young man in front of him. “Next time I would ask you to follow our protocol before appearing here, but for the sake of your brother” – and his hopeful soon to be relationship with one of my sons – “-we’ll just ignore it for now. Be our guest.”

 

Masaki nods, bowing deeply. “I apologize for not announcing my visit previously. I was acting without thinking. Please accept my apologies.”

 

Koichi rubs over his head, man, these young guys make him tired. But to be honest, he likes this Masaki instantly which is why he decides to be generous this time.

 

“Masaki-san wasn’t present when his father decided to send Jun-san to you,” Sakamoto explains all of a sudden.

 

“The old man has obviously lost it,” Masaki spats out. “It’s a disgrace to sell a child to an unknown kingdom and to an unknown fate.”

 

Koichi is definitely not going to agree openly to this, but secretly he does. “I assure you that your little brother is well,” he tells him.

 

Masaki frowns but only when Sakamoto nods, he seems to look relieved. “May I see him?” Masaki asks bluntly. Koichi is amazed by how direct he can be, and still manages to come off as nice.

 

“Yes, you can, but he is not here right now,” Koichi explains calmly. “He and my sons went together on a few days trip into our country.”

 

Masaki frowns slightly. “Your sons…” He eyes Sakamoto. “Just what exactly is going on? Why is he even here? And how long will he stay?”

 

Sakamoto’s eyes widen. “Your father hasn’t told you!?”

 

“No, and my other siblings don’t know either,” Masaki points out, face so full of honest worry that Koichi takes pity on the young man.

 

“Masaki-san,” he says calmly. “Your father sent your brother to me to marry one of my sons.”

 

Masaki obviously needs some time to process the information. “Marry?” he presses out.

 

“Indeed,” Sakamoto answers with a sigh. “King Koichi has three sons, all in the right age. “Jun-san is going to choose one of them, and the one he choose will become the new king.”

 

“Father planned all this?” Masaki asks in disbelief.

 

“Most certainly not,” Sakamoto grumbles. “King Koichi and his advisor Nagase-san did.”

 

“I thought so,” Masaki shakes his head. “Father just wanted to sell him to ensure peace. Whatever that means for Jun.” He sounds so bitter that Koichi feels the need to put his mind at ease.

 

“I reassure you that we all treat your brother with utmost respect,” he tells him.

 

“I know,” Masaki says quietly. “You do. But in my country no one did. How pathetic is that.”

 

Nagase pours him a glass of wine. “Someone obviously did care,” he says with a soft voice. “You, and Sakamoto-san and Yamaguchi-kun.”

 

“Yes, three people,” Masaki points out sadly. “It’s not much, is it?”

 

Koichi grabs the bottle of wine from Nagase and pours the young man some more of it. Later when one of his men had showed Masaki  his chambers and he and the other two men are alone, Sakamoto faces him, bowing deeply. “Thank you, your majesty, for your generosity towards Masaki-san. It was very reckless of him to just come to this place unannounced.”

 

“Yes, indeed,” Koichi says earnestly. “But I have my share of reckless sons around me too, which is why I let it slide. Besides, worry led him here, and for Jun-san it might be of emotional advantage to have his brother here for a while.”

 

Nagase smiles. “Just what did you mean with troubles, Sakamoto-san? When this young guy appeared, you said here comes trouble.”

 

“Yes, indeed, what did you mean?” Koichi means to know. “Troubles?”

 

“Not for you, your Majesty,” Sakamoto smiles warily. “But for your sons. Masaki feels very protective of his little brother. He won’t like anyone making advances towards him.”

 

Koichi and Nagase exchange a glance, then both of them burst into laughter. “That’s even better,” Koichi grins. “It will make everything more interesting and show which one of them is really determined.”

 

~~~

 

 

“Jun-kun,” Satoshi shakes him slightly, until he wakes up. It’s only then that Jun realizes Satoshi is addressing him less formal than usual. Finally. Just like the other two brothers.  “You can’t sleep here.” Satoshi chuckles. “Come, I’ll take you to your room.”

 

Jun nods, every muscle in his body seems to hurt while he follows Satoshi inside. “Do the stars always shine so bright?” he asks all of a sudden while he eyes the sky.

 

Satoshi looks up too and smiles. “Most of the time they do.”

 

“It’s beautiful,” Jun admits, too tired to properly realize the happy look on Satoshi’s face.

 

They spend a whole day in this town, so that Jun can rest a bit and won’t have to ride the horse immediately again. Besides they wanted to show him the farms anyway. Jun is surprised to see that there indeed are vegetables growing in the snow, and that most farms are using green houses to grow other plants and vegetables, and also fruits. Of course the type of fruit is different, but then Jun has to admit that here they have a lot more varieties in cabbage and potatoes, and alike. Besides their fish is really delicious. The brothers happily show him around, and the local people proudly tell him whatever he wants to know, apparently feeling very proud that a royal member of the kingdom is so interested and fascinated by their agriculture.

 

Sho chuckles. “You know you made yourself some fans here, don’t you?”

 

Jun blinks in surprise. “But why?”

 

“They were basically growing and growing under your questions and interest,” Kazu teases. “But it’s fine. We are happy you like what we show you.”

 

“I really do,” Jun admits, much to his surprise. He still prefers the sun and the beaches, but he can’t deny that this place has its good sides too.

 

“Wait till we show you the Crystal Forest,” Kazu points out. “You’ll love it. I promise.”

 

For this destination they need to ride though, but Jun doesn’t mind, happy to re-bond with Rock, and it’s only an hour away anyways. Once they arrive here, Jun realizes that the brothers haven’t promised too much. He is speechless, and for a few minutes he can only stand there and stare at the forest in front of him.

 

“Do you want to take a walk through it?” Satoshi asks with a smile on his face.

 

Jun nods. “But won’t I destroy anything?”

 

Sho chuckles. “No, dear, it’s a forest. People come here all the time.”

 

The Crystal Forest apparently got his name from its looks. The trees and bushes there are all white, the colour of their trunks is, and each of them is covered in sparkling ice crystals, shining like diamonds in the sun. The longer branches have even icicles dangling down from them and when Jun carefully touches them, they sound like little bells.

 

Next to him Yamaguchi is equally stunned. “That’s an eye-opener,” he admits.

 

The brothers let him stroll around as much as he wants, the happiness on their faces so obvious that Jun feels really touched by how much they wanted him to like this place and all the other things they showed him. His chest feels warm when he thinks of how kind they are.

 

“What is next to the forest?” Jun asks when he eyes a huge landscape. Empty with frozen grass and trees. Unlike the Crystal Forest it looks like a rough desert. It’s more like a storm once ravished the landscape. A bit like the sand dunes at home where nothing really grows. It’s a snow-dune it seems.

 

“It’s wasteland,” Sho explains. “There has been nothing growing there since many years already. The farmers close to this place always have problems with their harvest, as the climate is rougher and there is no protection from the forests like inside the country.”

 

“Like the desert at my home country. Such a pity,” Jun says, carefully touching one of the seemingly dead bushes. “I believe this could be a beautiful place.”

 

He thinks about this place for a while longer, but forgets it momentarily when the brothers show him more places. The towns around, the little lakes. At the same night, while Jun is sleeping peacefully, they wake him up.

 

“Come,” Sho grins at Jun’s tired glare. “We need to show you something.”

 

“In the middle of the night?” Jun complains weakly.

 

Kazu laughs slightly. “Yes.”

 

“You can only see it now,” Satoshi explains calmly.

 

Yamaguchi, who looks equally tired but also weirdly excited, nods towards Jun. “You really need to see this, Jun-san.”

 

Jun’s interest is awakened now by the weird hint his guard gave him. He lets Satoshi tug him into a warm jacket and then pull him outside. Before he can ask something, Sho points at the sky. Jun follows his finger curiously, eyes widening in surprise and fascination. “Northern Lights?” he asks.

 

Satoshi nods and takes Jun’s arm to pull him around so that he faces the other direction where the Light is even stronger. Jun’s eyes are wide-opened and he can only stare at the image in front of him. “It’s like out of a book,” he whispers. “I could watch it all night long, for weeks.”

 

“Well, then you would probably collapse with tiredness,” Kazu jokes, and they all laugh, Jun included.

 

The last place they show him is on their way back home. Jun notices that they take a different path. He is focusing more on his path now and on his surroundings, telling the others when he feels too tired to continue, so that he won’t repeat his former mistakes.

 

He wonders where they are going to though. The landscape gets emptier with each mile they ride, and the houses less. The wind gets stronger and Sho and Satoshi wrap him in a few additional scarfs and blankets. Also there is a loud sound that gets louder the closer they get. Before they arrive though, Sho and the others halt their horses and get off them. Jun follows them. One of the guards accompanying them offers them to wait there with their horses.

 

“It’s not a place for a horse,” Satoshi explains to Jun. “You feeling well? Cold?”

 

“A bit, but it’s okay,” Jun answers honestly, curious what the brothers are going to show him.

 

“Jun-san,” Sho says carefully while they lead him along a path. “We know that this here really can’t compare to the places you know from your home, but…”

 

“… We thought you might miss it, so we brought you here. You mentioned you miss such a place during one of our history lessons,” Satoshi says with a smile, and winks towards Jun. Probably his lesson with Jun where Jun was dozing off. What did he tell Satoshi back then?

 

Jun’s eyes widen in surprise when he walks past the last bend, and finally reaches a huge open stony and snowy beach, huge and angry waves washing against rocks, producing the thunder-like sound he heard before.

 

It’s the seaside. They brought him to the seaside because they know Jun’s home is located close to the sea.

 

Jun can’t help it this time. Without him realizing tears start dropping down his face.

 

“You don’t like it?” Kazu says in worry.

 

“Or was the day too long?” Sho asks in shock.

 

Satoshi pats his shoulder. “Jun-kun,” he says softly.

 

Jun smiles under his tears. “It’s just…because you are all so kind.”

 

“This is why you cry?” Kazu laughs. “No one ever cried because he thought I am kind. You really lack comparison.”

 

“It’s… this is perfect,” Jun mumbles under tears. “Thank you so much.”

 

“Okay,” Sho blushes slightly. “That’s enough appreciation now.”

 

“Let’s hug,” Kazu offers playfully, and before Jun even knows what’s happening he feels Kazu’s small arms around his, and Sho’s muscular ones, and Satoshi’s warm ones. He has to laugh under his tears, too happy first to realize it but then it’s suddenly clearly in his ears and body. Batam. His heart starts beating faster, his stomach feeling like there are butterflies in it.

 

When they go back to the horses, Jun eyes the three men in confusion. What was that? His heart was just beating faster? But… for which one of them?

 

 

~~~

 

 

 

“Your majesty,” the guard is panting slightly while he disrupts the breakfast Koichi is holding with Nagase, Sakamoto and their new guest Masaki.

 

Koichi looks up alarmed. “What happened?” he asks sharply.

 

“The wasteland close to the crystal forest,” the man pants, but looks too surprised and excited to be carrying bad news. “The trees are carrying buds all of a sudden. And the farms are announcing that the harvest won’t be lost. Overnight they were able to save it!”

 

“Impossible,” Koichi mumbles. “Nothing has been growing there since I was a child.”

 

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” the guard tells him. “Some of the others did too. We just came back from a military exercise.”

 

Koichi isn’t sure how he is supposed to react now. It’s a miracle. The wasteland has been without any vegetation since many many years. It’s wasteland, nothing there can grow. And he has been worrying about this place and the farms close by since years already.

 

“It’s close to the Crystal Forest,” Nagase says all of a sudden. “That’s where your sons and Jun-san were,” he muses. “Maybe they can tell us more.”

 

Masaki’s fork drops down, making all of them spin around. “Jun was there?” His eyes are widened in disbelief. “Can’t be,” he stutters.

 

Sakamoto’s eyes widen slightly, then he smiles all of a sudden. “So, it begins.” His lips tug. “It seems like something happened there. Finally.”

 

A/N: So, Jun is developing feelings for one of the brothers. Now he (and I *lol*) just need to figure out who. Jk, by now I know who he will fall for, I have written a few chapters in advance ;-) But what do you think? Who fits Jun the best?

And *drummmmmrolllll* Masaki appeared, and he isn't happy that Jun is supposed to marry :D

And... at the end some unexpected news happen to arrive Koichi? What does it mean?

Didn't update last week - sorry!!! But it felt like no one here was online, and then I got kind of lazy... well ><  But here it is ^^ I will of course update Sound of Silence tomorrow too.