TITLE: Instead of Peonies
AUTHOR: mikkimikka
RATING: General/Everyone
PAIRING: Halkenburg x Kacho
SUMMARY: Prince Kacho only cares about her younger twin sister. Her one wish is that they stay together forever. However, this world view is called into question once she catches the eye of her older half-brother, Prince Halkenburg.

Instead of Peonies

Above Kacho's head were the boughs of a tree, an open canopy shielding the prince from the early summer's day. The sun beat down on the farce of a family gathering. She read, seated beneath the mighty oak tree, a place she'd spent so much of her girlhood days galavanting around and treating as a place of solitude. She felt at peace.

The book she read was one gifted by the fifth prince on her birthday. She knew Tubeppa, her half-sister didn't truly care for her, nor did she ever once look in her direction, but the princes never missed a birthday no matter how foolish or childish the tradition.

The fifth prince wasn't religious, so perhaps such gestures comforted her. Humans grasped at any opportunity for normalcy or routine. Kacho felt nothing of it. She held no particular affection towards her half-sister or her present, but the book itself was adequate. She was happy to tune out the world in exchange for the one presented within the confines of its pages, especially on a day such as this one.

"Kacho."

Kacho didn't glance up from her book. Uninterested in being bothered by her half-brother Halkenburg, she didn't acknowledge him. Even when the tops of his patent leather shoes came into her line of sight, she didn't look up.

"It's a pleasure to see you. It's been too long," the ninth prince said.

It was only then that Kacho lifted her head.

"Such pleasantries are unneeded," she said.

Which was true. Kacho was observant and knew that Halkenburg didn't truly care for any of his other siblings. For the most part, the feeling was mutual, but Halkenburg was diplomatic and amicable where many of the older princes weren't.

He reached out his hand and Kacho resigned herself to his invitation. She took reluctant hold of it after closing her book and stuffing it under the crook of her left arm. He pulled her to her feet.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

" The Secret Garden ," she replied with a sniff.

"That's a classic."

"It's quite juvenile, I think. Your dear sister gifted it to me," Kacho said by way of reply. "She still thinks me as a little girl."

She let go of his hand and showed him the cover.

"I don't think that was Tubeppa's intention."

Kacho didn't want to admit that she was enjoying it so she steered the subject away from that of the book.

"How did you know it was Tubeppa who gifted it?"

"It was easy to tell. You know, she very much liked that book herself when she was your age."

"She never seemed to me as the type," mused Kacho, looking down at the book cover. "This book is rather romantic, and she's always so serious."

"This is true, but we all have different facets of ourselves, and new things to discover too. Isn't that how it is for Colin and Mary?"

Kacho looked up at her half-brother, only to see him gazing fondly down at her. She frowned unsure of what to make of that softness in his gaze.

"I suppose so," she said, turning away and walking down and away from the oak.

Halkenburg followed behind her. He didn't exactly keep step with her pace. Despite his legs being longer, he hung just a tad behind her perhaps out of politeness. His arms were folded behind his back. When she looked behind their eyes meet briefly.

"Kacho!"

Kacho turned, the first smile of the day crossing her features.

Fugetsu ran up the hill. Unlike her older twin sister Kacho, she was dressed in a pair of long pants. She nearly tripped on the hem as she came up the hill. When she reached Kacho it was like they fell into each other. She threw her arms around Kacho's waist and beamed brightly.

"My lessons ran late, but I made it!"

Fugetsu pulled back without truly letting go. She acknowledged Halkenburg with a nod.

"You look as lovely as ever," he said.

"Thank you," Fugetsu said smiling slightly.

Kacho couldn't help the possessiveness in her watching the exchange between the two. She tightened the hold she had on her sister's arm.

"Is that a peony?" Halkenburg said.

"Yes," replied Fugetsu.

She let go of Kacho fully to present the flower that was in her hand, a perfect pink peony.

"They're in bloom in the garden and I couldn't resist the temptation to walk through there on the way in for the party."

"Oh, I'd love to see them. Would you be so kind as to give me and your sister a tour?" asked Halkenburg.

Fugetsu seemed taken by surprise by the request, but she wasn't forced to answer. Kacho cut in, obviously miffed by the proposal.

"My sister and I are going. Go see the garden by yourself!"

Kacho turned abruptly and pulled her sister right along with her. She wasted not a single breath on a proper goodbye and left the ninth prince Halkenburg beneath the tree. Sure he was her brother (half!) and the one closest in age, but she had no intention of getting closer to him. What right did he have to attempt such familiarity?

"Why are we leaving?" asked Fugetsu as they walked down the hill and away from the aspen.

The older prince Halkenburg stood under the tree still looking after him. Fugetsu craned her neck back for a final glance.

"Don't look back at him!" Kacho scolded.

"Why shouldn't I?" Fugetsu asked. "It's a pity we couldn't go in the garden. He looks so sad."

Kacho scoffed and stopped. She turned to her sister, cupping her face within her hands.

"Don't be so foolish, Fu-Fu, the only flower he wished to see in the garden was you."

One look at her twin sister told Kacho that she wasn't convinced of their half-brother's intention. Kacho didn't need her to be, however. She was aware of her sister's beauty and the way that now, in the spring of their youth, some of their more lecherous princes and staff even stopped to admire her. She was like a peony, now in her bloom, but Kacho wanted to be the one to pluck her and adorn her in her hair. It was only right as she was her sister and her twin, the single person who knew her best, just as Fugetsu also knew her.

"Halkenburg isn't that way," countered Fugetsu. "He's a good person."

But Kacho didn't trust him.

When Kacho finally finished the Secret Garden , she was surprised by how much she enjoyed it. She was deeply moved by the relationship between the seemingly at odds Mary and Collin. She felt, for the first time in a long time, completely aware of her own autonomy. It was as if all she had to do was will something to be, work towards it and it would be so.

She wanted Fugetsu to read it as well. She loaned it to her sister as soon as she was finished and felt equal parts relieved and smug to see that her sister was enjoying it as much as she had.

Kacho decided to head to the library after lunch. It was during another of Fugetsu's riding lessons so Kacho knew she'd have enough time to select something new to read before her sister returned. She never properly thanked Tubeppa for the book and knew that she wouldn't. Still, she was left changed and with a hunger for more like it.

She entered the room hoping to find it completely devoid of any other person, and especially any of her half-siblings. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Seated at one of the reading tables in the center of the room was that pesky Halkenburg. Kacho's first instinct was to retreat but when he looked up and saw her, he looked pleasantly surprised.

"Come in," he said as if reading her hesitation. "You won't disturb me."

Kacho let herself into the room. The door closed with a thud behind her as she hustled past her half-brother. She didn't spare another glance his way.

"As if I cared if you were disturbed."

She bristled as she heard his chuckle behind her back but she said nothing more. She moved between the rows doing her best to ignore his presence. Thankfully, it took little time for her to lose herself among the collection.

The family library had been in use for generations and the books were touched by countless of her relatives. Those she knew and never knew. It was a bit humbling to understand that. She knew the power of her family, but also the uncertainty of her place as the 9th prince. The history of other nations told her that usually, it was the first born to inherit the throne. Benjamin was more than qualified for the position, she supposed, but she knew that it wasn't that way in Kakin.

The succession of power and the determination of the would be king were heavily guarded secrets of the kingdom and her family both. She didn't know how it happened, but she knew that there was other criteria to be met to decide the next King. Whatever it was, Kacho admitted she was curious about it, but if given the choice of the crown she knew she didn't want it.

She peeked out from behind the shelf she was standing at and saw Halkenburg bent over in front of whatever he was working on. It was a rather large tome and definitely looked like something business rather than pleasure. Perhaps he was studying or doing something for work. He looked so serious. He always did.

However, it wasn't the same was as Benjamin who perhaps was made that way from the sheer force of being the eldest of fourteen princes. No, Halkenburg was always surrounded by a cloud of melancholy that made him absolutely insufferable to be around. Kacho decided in that moment that Halkenburg couldn't be the King. He was nothing like their father.

Kacho tore her eyes away from Halkenburg and resumed her scan of the shelves before coming across a book that caught her eyes. She didn't know what it was about, there was no description on the outside or the inside of the volume. Instead, it was a leather bound thing with gold letters embossed across the front of it.

She ran her fingers over the text.

The Age of Innocence .

Kacho pressed the book to her chest and turned on her heels to leave. She didn't know what possessed her but as she strode past her older half-brother she turned back to look at him. His head was bowed in front of his book. She saw now that it was some legal text. Perhaps he did have interest in the throne after all.

She was torn between taking off or commencing with her original intention of reading in the library It wasn't that she wanted to sit with him, but the library was a suitable location in which to read. The lighting through the windows hit the table just right, and she supposed that was exactly the reason Halkenburg chose it as his preferred study location as well.

Halkenburg looked up, sensing her hesitation. His dark eyes were set deep within his face and she couldn't see a single sign that they were related. The differences between the siblings were all so striking.

"Your sister is riding, isn't she? You should read here until she's finished."

The mention of her younger sister set Kacho on edge. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pushed into something between a pout and snarl. How distasteful of him to mention her.

She slid the chair furthest from her half-brother out and after smoothing her skirts sat down. She set the book on the table. Halkenburg's greedy eyes moved to scan the cover. She waited for any sign of recognition but there was none. She wondered why she was expecting some comment about Tubeppa again.

It was Kacho who spoke first this time.

"I don't appreciate you keeping tabs on my sister's schedule," she said,

"I apologize." Halkenburg looked up from his book again. "I'm in charge of the estate's stables so I'm aware of the particulars surrounding its usage."

"Bullshit."

Kacho's fingers curled against the binding of her book.

"How foolish do you think I am?"

"I don't find you the least bit foolish," rejoined her half-brother.

Kacho glowered at him with her eyes.

"The other day at the second queen's garden party-"

"My mother."

"I'm onto you. Your invite to walk in the garden, to view the peonies… you sought me out in order to get closer to my sister."

Halkenburg regarded her words for only a couple seconds before replying.

"What makes you think I didn't seek to speak to you?"

"That's-"

Kacho paused unsure of how to proceed. It wasn't a prospect she was willing to take any stock in. After all, when had anyone ever expressed singular interest in her. It was either Kacho and Fugetsu as a set or Fugetsu all alone. Sure Kacho had a personality that commanded the attention of others, but it wasn't in any sort of affectionate way. That was exactly how Kacho liked it. Fugetsu was the beautiful one, the lovely one, the sister that deserved anything. Kacho's only request was that in exchange for pushing everyone else away Fugetsu allowed her to remain by her side.

"What is it?" Halkenburg asked.

Kacho shook her head, "You're an odd man."

"How so? Certainly, Fugetsu is beautiful. Though while the flowers are in bloom, I have no interest in the fleeting beauty of a peony."

Against her will, Kacho felt the blood rush to her face. The implication of what her brother just said was not lost upon her and with a heavy, wildly beating heart, she collected her book and left the room.

When Kacho arrived at the stable her sister was already there with their half-sister Tyson. Kacho felt a pang of jealousy. Was Fugetsu becoming closer with the sixth prince? Perhaps Kacho should demand right away that she be placed into riding lessons as well. Archery was of no use to her if it meant losing her sister.

"Katty!"

Fugetsu walked up to her and the sisters clasped their hands together.

"Hi, Kacho!" Tyson greeted with a beaming smile that was almost too big for her face. "See you next class, Fugetsu."

Tyson walked off back towards the manor and Kacho turned to Fugetsu, squeezing at her sister's hands tightly.

"You seem close," she said.

"Tyson is so friendly. She always talks during our rides with our instructor," Fugetsu said.

"Perhaps I should take riding too."

"But then what of your archery lessons?"

"It's torture when I have to wait on you for your riding to finish. Can't I do both?"

Fugetsu laughed and dislodged their hands in favor of hugging Kacho around the waist. She seemed to take it as a joke. Kacho wouldn't press the situation any longer. Instead, she thought it was best if she just enjoyed the rest of her day with her sister without making a fuss.

The two girls walked back towards the house hand in hand and Kacho couldn't be any more pleased. Walking with her beautiful, flower-like sister, was there anything else better in the world? Yet, her pleasure was interrupted when her brain betrayed her! The image of her half-brother Halkenburg hunched over his book in the library flashed like a conspiracy through her mind.

A strange pang of guilt caused Kacho to steer her sister away from the house.

"Let's go to the garden! I haven't yet seen the peonies."

The blasted peonies. That was the wrong thing for Kacho to say, as it only brought to the forefront her time with Halkenburg in the library and the rather absurd ideas he had.

If Fugetsu were a fleeting peony, then what was she? Kacho was by no means plain or unhandsome. She would admit that about herself readily. But how could she even begin to compare to Fugetsu? Where Fugetsu was like the entire garden in the height of bloom Kacho was the stem that supported her.

"You seem preoccupied."

They were in the garden now, walking along the cobbled stone path, arms still laced.

"I'm admiring the flowers."

"We already passed the peonies."

"I wanted to see the poppies," said Kacho as an excuse.

Fugetsu stopped her sister then, tugging at her hand and bringing her to sit on a stone bench that was nearby. All around them the garden seem to team with bright life and vigor. Kacho met her twin's gaze with what she hoped was a reassuring look.

"You can tell me. Something appears to be on your mind. How was your day?"

"You were with me up until the point you went riding," reminded Kacho.

Fugetsu's dark eyes relayed the fact that she wouldn't let the issue rest until she received an answer.

"Fine," sniffed Kacho in a petulant manner. "I met Prince Halkenburg today in the library."

"Oh," Fugetsu said softly.

"It was a coincidence. He was studying and I was searching for a book to read."

Kacho felt nervous and the hand that Fugetsu held was beginning to grow clammy. Kacho reached up, tugging at the strands of hair that hung by her ear.

"That sounds nice. The library is always cozy that time of day."

"Yeah," Kacho said.

They fell silent and they sat in the garden. Kacho's eyes zeroed in on a single blue butterfly as it took off from a nearby leaf with a flutter of its delicate wings.

Kacho stood and crossed the path to examine the irises. Up close she could see they'd already begun to brown. What a shame. Irises were always so lovely but only for the shortest of time. She reached out and plucked one of the flowers from the stem. She examined the yellow and red, deep in her thoughts.

She knew not why she was so awfully affected by her half-brother. She never felt that way before. Everyone else in her life had always been regarded with a degree of indifference. Only her mother and sister had dared penetrate her defenses. After all, she felt satisfied with what she had. What exactly had caused her to suddenly see him differently? Though she wouldn't say her feeling was favorable the fact that she was bothered by any feeling at all was enough.

She felt Fugetsu come up behind her. Her sister's hand pressed against her back.

"I think I understand," Fugetsu said. "Somehow, isn't it natural for us to feel this way?"

"What way?"

"That eventually we won't be together like this forever, that we'll have to separate and maybe have our own families, fall in love."

Kacho's eyes widened, scandalized by the implications of those words.

She whirled around, grabbing Fugetsu by the forearms.

"I would never!" Kacho exclaimed. "I would never leave you."

Kacho moved her hands up, using them to cradle her sister's soft face. Fugetsu leaned into the touch.

"No one is worth leaving you for. Especially not some man, not him."

Kacho shook her head. She didn't even want to picture it. She rubbed her thumb against the skin of Fugetsu's cheek and memorized the velvet feel of it. Her hands trembled with the power of her emotions, the sincerity of her oath. Fugetsu raised her hand clasping it over Kacho's.

Kacho spoke, voice firm and resolute with her intentions.

"Even if it's not a man. You're the only one for me. I'm nothing without you."

Fugetsu pulled the palm of her sister's hand to her lips. She sealed the pledge with a kiss.

Kacho wasn't looking forward to the next time she'd meet her half-brother. Yet, there was also a secret part of her heart that anticipated it. Kacho had taken to avoiding the library during Fugetsu's riding lessons. Otherwise, they were nearly always together. It was easy to avoid her other siblings. Everyone led their own very independent and individual lives. Many of the princes older than her were no longer staying in the manor either. Still, the fear and excitement of encountering the ninth prince never left her.

It hadn't even been a week since their encounter beneath the oak tree and Halkenburg had somehow weaved himself within the matter of her mind. During her archery lesson, she imagined the target as her half-brother's forehead. By the end of the fortnight, she'd surely be mad enough to hit the bull's eye.

After archery, Kacho decided to take the long way back to the manner from the range. It was quite a bit of distance from the house. Though the twelfth prince offered her company, Kacho declined it and Momoze took the usual path.

Walking along the backwoods trail, Kacho felt comfort in solitude. It'd been some time since she'd taken the trail, but it was one of Fugetsu's favorite places for hide-and-seek when they were younger. Kacho couldn't help but smile to herself at the memory of Fugetsu getting herself stuck in a tree she climbed because she was too afraid to jump down. The smile turned into a confused frown when she remembered that it was indeed Halkenburg who had helped coax her twin down.

Up ahead there was a clearing that would lead uphill to the manor and as Kacho neared it she could hear the babble of voices. They weren't loud enough to be distinguished but she slowed her pace contemplating if she should show herself or double back. She pushed forward and stopped behind a tree just before entering. It was Queen Duazul and none other than Prince Halkenburg.

The conversation ended and the queen began her walk uphill. Halkenburg merely watched his mother with his hands in his pockets before turning away just as she reached the crest. When he did so, he spotted Kacho behind the tree. Their eyes met but otherwise, he didn't acknowledge her presence.

Kacho made the first move, stepping out from behind the tree and walking up the trail towards her half-brother.

"How was archery?" Halkenburg asked, knowing that the range was in the direction she'd come in from.

"Satisfactory," Kacho said as she passed.

Halkenburg easily fell into step with her. He pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed them behind his back as the began their ascent up the hill.

"I noticed you were reading Wharton so I thought I'd make a suggestion."

Halkenburg paused. When Kacho said nothing in return, he took it as permission to continue speaking.

"You should read Chopin's The Awakening ."

"Why?" asked Kacho.

"I think you'd be interested in some early feminist literature."

"No, I mean why are you giving me suggestions-" Kacho self-corrected. "Why are you so interested in me?"

Halkenburg tilted his head at her question, regarding her with his deep dark eyes. Fugetsu also inherited that dark stare. They'd got it from the king. Kacho took after her mother Seiko in almost every way. She didn't see an ounce of their father in her.

"I admit I wasn't so interested in you before, but that's changed."

"How so?"

"Well, you were correct when you said at my mother's party that I was only wishing to exchange pleasantries. But then I saw you reading that book, and I suppose I was curious to see how you interpreted it. Then in the library, I got to thinking, this girl is a lot more than meets the eye. Perhaps my hunch about you was correct that day. But enough of that. Do you mean to say you're not interested in me?"

Kacho bristled, "Of course not!"

Halkenburg frowned, "Oh. I guess I was mistaken then."

Kacho didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to interpret the expression on her half-brother's face other than disappointment.

"That isn't to say I dislike talking to you or that I won't take your suggestion," said Kacho.

They reached the top of the hill then. Halkenburg undid the lock to the back gate of the garden and held it open for Kacho to pass through. He made sure to shut it behind her and she waited all the while. She didn't start walking again until he was back by her side, arms folded comfortably behind his back.

"I'm glad then," Halkenburg effortlessly resumed the conversation. "That you're not completely averse to my company."

And he smiled then, only slightly and Kacho couldn't help but blush. She turned her head away. Halkenburg was kind enough to pretend not to notice.

"Ah," Kacho said suddenly remembering. "You'll finally have a chance to see the peonies."

"I saw them earlier with mother," he replied.

As they passed by a bench Halkenburg reached out and grabbed Kacho's elbow to stall her. She felt a tremor crawl up her arm at the contact and lightly pulled away.

"Sit with me," he said.

And she did. She settled down on the bench and folded her hands neatly over her lap. A strange air settled over the pair and Kacho wondered if she'd ever been alone with a man like this before. The answer was no. She'd never experienced it before and a current of excitement ran up her spine at the sheer novelty of it.

It didn't escape her mind the setting they were in. They were seated upon the very bench she'd shared with Fugetsu but she brushed away the guilt that pushed at the edges of her mind, focusing on her current partner.

"Halkenburg."

The name felt foreign on her tongue. And coy. She'd never addressed the older prince by name and as soon as she said it she felt like she'd overstepped a boundary. But she also found that she didn't dislike it and Halkenburg didn't seem to mind either.

He reached over and she stiffened as his hand closed over hers but she did not pull away. And then his face was close, so close. Her eyes closed and upon her lips fell the most chaste of kisses, soft as a butterfly landing upon a leaf. Her stomach fluttered as heat spread through her body.

Behind them the irises had already withered; the petals wilted, molted away from its stem like the newly shed skin of a snake.

END

AN:

No spoilers!

Thanks so much for reading. I can't believe I wrote the equivalent of a grocery store romance novel for hxh! I'm not sure I did the characters justice~ but It was fun getting into Kacho's mind. She's a character that intrigues me. If you're caught up in the manga you can make of this situation however you'd like it! Hahaha I have my own thoughts of what happened after this.

Thanks again for reading. I won't ramble on more than I already have. High five to everyone who loves all of the princes as much as I do! I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to leave comments and criticism both!