Derek was not fidgeting, because he was not given to such habits, but were he a man who fidgeted, he would be fidgeting right now.
"We all heard Prince Stiles is a very gentle soul with a kind heart. Do stop scowling, lest you scare away your intended before you even have a chance to talk to him" Laura whispers as they watch the delegation from the kingdom of Beacon approach his family's lands.
Derek doesn't have much patience for gentle hearts or kind souls – he is a soldier.
The only reason he is the one to become the next ruler and not his older sister, Laura, is that she had renounced all rights to the throne to become a Ranger, and their mother could do nothing to stop her.
Derek is resigned to the fact that he will become King one day, and that as such, he will have to marry out of duty – it doesn't make him happy about it, but he is mature enough not to scowl, contrary to what Laura believes: he just isn't someone given to smiles and frivolities. The first eighteen years of his life had been spent with him thinking of himself as a soldier, training hard from dusk until dawn, and getting used to the idea that one day, when he was old enough, he would be the Captain of the Guard, and his duty would be to defend his country and its people while his older sister ruled.
Then Laura was twenty-one years old, and renounced the throne to live the free life of a Ranger, and he was thrown into a whole other world of duty and politics to which he had no inclination.
Prince Stiles, however, was said to be an amazingly skilled politician and diplomat. He was five years younger than Derek, only seventeen, and yet everyone and their mother knew King Stilinski had been bringing his son along to his meetings and negotiations for years, and the boy often partook in the talks. He was raised to be a King, to marry high and continue the line, and that made Derek a bit unsure of everything.
The last person he had met who had been raised to be a King one day had been Prince Whittemore, who had been his mother's ward until the year before, and Derek had never disliked someone as strongly as he did that boy.
Hopefully, Prince Stiles would be no worse.
As the whole delegation from Beacon comes through the gates, Derek takes in a deep breath and sets out to at least try to be pleasant. He admittedly doesn't have an easy time being courteous and polite, but he has to try, for the sake of the contract his mother and father had agreed to.
He is to marry Prince Stiles, and, one day, they will rule Triskele together. Their first born being the heir to the Hale Kingdom, and their second child inheriting Beacon from his grandfather.
Triskele is a powerful kingdom, with no lack of proposals for allies through a marriage to the first heir, but Beacon has harbors and experience in trading overseas, and it is economically advantageous to make this alliance now.
Apart from that, from all the people his mother had met while visiting neighboring kingdoms, the one she actually thought could make Derek happy was Stiles.
Derek, as the dutiful son that he is, had only nodded and agreed – it is his duty, and he will do it, no matter if his intended were a boy or a girl, an annoying prince or a perfect princess.
He is, of course, hoping that it won't be as bad as it could, but he's not really counting on falling in love at first sight.
His first sight of Stiles, against everything he had hoped for, is actually a pleasant one. The Prince comes through the gates beside his father – not in a cart or a carriage, but on horseback. Unlike many nobles who come to Triskele, Stiles isn't styled in silks and finery, but wearing simple riding breeches, a shirt, and a well-made leather vest, with the crest of his Kingdom embroidered over his heart, but that's all that makes him stand apart from his guards. His father is wearing a long red cape, but is otherwise similarly attired, and that helps put Derek at ease even if only a little – he won't have to deal with another Jackson, and that is already good enough.
Derek follows his mother down the steps towards the path where the delegation is getting off their horses. Laura is half a step behind him, quiet, collected, and calm, and Derek envies her courage for a minute – this should be her intended, her future consort, not his.
He, however, could never stand the pressure of disappointing his mother again, so this is his fate now.
Prince Stiles has a certain grace to him – striking features and amazing brown eyes, a kind smile and a lean figure – and Derek figures he's lucky enough. It could be a lot worse, and he would never say a word against it.
As they start to make their way towards the Hales, Stiles stumbles over nothing, and the first guard on his right holds him up, his hands lingering for a second too long on his waist, and the Prince smiles at his guard, thanking him.
He's polite to his servants and kind to the ones he rules. He does have the makings of a good companion, of a fair king, just as his mother had been telling him.
"Your Majesty" King Stilinski greets as soon as he's close enough, bowing just enough that it's respectful at Derek's mother.
"King Stilinski, it is an honor to have you here in Triskele" Talia greets back, nodding at the man once, and motioning for Derek to come forward, "This is my son and heir, Derek, and my daughter Laura" she introduces them, and they bow at the King.
"Is it true you're a Ranger?" comes an eager voice, and Derek raises his eyes to see Stiles biting his lips and looking at his dad with an apologetic little smile.
"Do excuse my son, I think the time on the road might have gotten to his manners," the King tells her, but there's humor in his eyes, and Talia is already laughing softly anyway as Laura puffs out her chest, proud to be different, "This is my only son and heir, Stiles."
Talia smiles kindly at the boy.
"Oh, do not worry. I do have a Ranger for a daughter after all" her eyes are soft as Stiles bows to her, "It is a pleasure to see you again, Prince Stiles. I hope the road has treated you kindly."
Stiles smiles blindingly at her, and Derek starts to get nervous again, for an entire different reason.
"It was a great journey, Your Grace. Your kingdom has beautiful sights."
"We thank you, my prince."
"Forgive me, My Lord, but we should see to Prince Stiles's injury soon" the guard who helped Stiles before says, and everyone stares at the Prince in concern, as he waves it off, carelessly.
"This is the Captain of the Guard, and the responsible for my safety, Sir Jordan of House Parrish, and he worries way too much."
"Your Majesty, I do apologize, but His Highness does not concern himself enough with his welfare," the guard answers, and Stiles glares at him – playfully. It's not the look from a Prince to a servant; it is that of a friend to another. Sir Jordan meets his eyes, even though his head is still lowered, and there's a smile in his eyes, soft and caring.
"Were you injured on the road?" Laura asks, showing concern, and Stiles waves it away, with a small gesture.
"Nothing to worry about, my Lady. I am a bit clumsy sometimes, and had a small issue with a rock a bit too sharp. It is a small wound, and I'll get it seen to soon enough, nothing to concern yourselves with, I promise."
"Let us get you to your accommodations, then, so you can all refresh before we dine" Talia offers, gesturing them into the palace.
Derek watches them go, observes the carefulness with which their servants bring their trunks into the palace, the ease with which King Stilinski carries himself, and mainly at how Sir Jordan seems to hover around Prince Stiles. They truly inspire their servants to love them, and that can only be a good sign.
"Well, first meeting wasn't a complete failure" Laura comments beside him and Derek snorts, starting to follow his sister into their home as well.
"First meeting and we didn't even say a word to each other", he whispers at her, and Laura shrugs a bit, looking ahead.
"I would worry less about the word exchange and more about Sir Handsome and Protective over there with your intended."
"What do you mean?" Derek asks without pausing, but looking at the Guards surrounding the Stilinskis to see that yes, Sir Jordan is right beside Stiles again, just a step behind Derek's mother and King Stilinski, seeming to be telling the prince something.
"Just… Call it intuition, but that was a lot of familiarity from a guard to a prince."
"His Captain of the Guard. Personally responsible for his safety."
Laura doesn't say anything else, just heads off to her own rooms, to get ready for the feast, and Derek does the same.
His sister is clearly crazy.
X
Derek changes his clothes to meet his family for the meal they'll be having with the Royals from Beacon, knowing this will, at least, be easy – it's just his family and King Stilinski's.
Tomorrow evening, though, now that is going to be a whole other kind of mess, for the amount of people who will gather to witness the announcement of their wedding in just a few days.
He's getting married.
Holy Gods, he is getting married to a boy five years younger. He has to close his eyes for a moment and try to ignore whatever it is that keeps trying to rush through his mind. Thinking, Derek knows, is not always advised when he has to face things he cannot change.
He walks out of his room as confidently as he can, praying he is not late – it wouldn't do to look as if he doesn't care about his intended and the boy's family enough to be on time.
His mother is waiting for him in the smallest dining hall, which would be strange for any other dignitary of another Kingdom, but Derek knows King Stilinski made it clear he wasn't given to too much fuss when it could be avoided.
Derek hopes Stiles is much of the same. It would make his life easier in the long run, no doubt about that.
Talia smiles at him when he stands by her side, waiting for their guests, and for a moment, when it is just the two of them, Derek feels a whole lot more confident.
"How are you fairing, my dear?"
Derek doesn't really know how to answer – his mother always knows when he's lying anyway, and he doesn't wantto lie. He also doesn't have the kind of answer she would be pleased to hear, so he settles for taking in a deep breath, correcting his posture as much as he can, as if standing tall and proud will make things easier.
"Nervous" his mother guesses, putting a hand on his arm, her smile diminishing a bit, but still looking fondly at him. He nods, agreeing, as there is really no point in denying it, and Talia shakes her head at him.
"Do not worry; everything will be fine, you'll see. Stiles is an amazing young man. I know he can make you happy, or I wouldn't have agreed to this." She takes a few steps and stops right in front of him, having to look up, even if only a little, to actually look into his eyes, "I wouldn't have cared how much trading and shipping we can get out of this if I did not think it would make you happy as Derek, not only as a King."
"I know," he answers, smiling in spite of his nerves, "And I thank you for it."
Talia looks as if she wants to add something else, but a pageboy comes into the room to inform them that King Stilinski and his son are on their way.
Laura and Cora come through the back door of the room, and Talia frowns at them for their almost tardiness, but doesn't comment on it, as their guests are coming in on that moment.
Out of his riding clothes, Stiles is just as striking, even if a little… softer. Younger. Dressed as a Prince right now, Stiles loses a bit of his edge from before, not looking a single day older than his seventeen years – maybe even a little less than that.
Derek takes a deep breath, going through the motions automatically as his mother welcomes the King and his son, and they take their places on the table, trying to calm his nerves a bit. Weddings between people much younger than both of them have happened and been successful before, it's not like Stiles is a child and he is an old man, but it's still disconcerting.
As they are all seated, the servants around them serving food and drink, Derek takes a moment to try and observe his intended, – he is never really still. Stiles plays with the glasses and touches the plates. He looks around the room and seems to be paying attention to every single person who comes to the table – it's both unnerving and fascinating all at once.
"We thank you for suggesting this union, Talia" King Stilinski says, once the servants have served the first course of the meal, and they are in relative privacy – as much as one can, really, out of one's bedroom, "Even though I still think Stiles is too young…"
"We needed it", Stiles himself cuts in, looking much more serious than he had a moment before, looking at his father with a small frown, "And I am not so young that I don't know what my duty as heir is. As far as I'm concerned, this is a match made in heaven", the prince completes, shrugging in a most plebian way, that Derek can't help but find endearing.
Talia only nods, not commenting on the fact that King Stilinski doesn't seem to be the one to actually agree to this match – this is news for Derek, though.
"Until you contacted us, we weren't aware that Lord Daehler had become such a problem to the East," his mother says, and Derek feels a sense of dread.
Jackson Whittemore had become his mother's ward in order to protect him from Lord Daehler. The man was known to deal with dark witchcraft, and used any means necessary to gain power – he had used Jackson as a part of a spell to try to get his kingdom, but Lady Lydia had found out about it in time to rescue him before the situation became irreversible. As a result, his parents thought it better to send the boy away from the court as they dealt with Daehler. The Argents had run him away from Whittemore's Kingdom, and everyone thought he was dead or completely defeated – but apparently not.
"We gathered enough information to know he has somehow gained an army, and is planning to invade Beacon," Stiles tells the Queen, his voice serious and face somber as he plays with a knife on the table, "We do not have an army strong enough to keep him away, – we are a trading Kingdom. Our people work hard from sun up until sun down, but they are not fighters. A faction of the Rangers is helping us, but we aren't sure how long that will last…"
The prince trails off, trading a look with his father, and Derek can see Laura frowning.
"Why would they refuse you?" she asks, and Stiles seems to consider his words very carefully before speaking.
"Allison Argent is leading the Rangers that are helping us."
Derek freezes and Talia frowns. Laura is practically growling and Cora seems to want to kill something, but Stiles is not intimidated, keeping on talking even though it doesn't seem like the best idea to mention Argents in this Kingdom.
"She is the leader in the field, under the banner of her father's division. He thought it would be good training for when she becomes their leader after he retires, but…"
"But?" Talia prompts and Derek knows that depending on where this is going, this marriage might as well never happen.
"But she fell in love with Prince Scott McCall, from Hillside" King Stilinski tells them, voice almost fond, "He is a good friend of Stiles', always has been, and McCall is a small and pacific Kingdom, but Scott made sure to come to us when the rumors about Daehler's attempt to take us over started going around. They fell in love, and Allison found out about her family's… not so clean practices" here he looks briefly at Derek, but keeps on talking, "She decided to abandon them and be with Scott. His mother doesn't have the heart to order them to be apart, but Lady Allison's family has all but shunned her away, under the orders of her grandfather. Christopher couldn't stop him, and now Lady Allison doesn't have her legacy anymore to keep the Rangers fighting for her. We don't know if Gerard won't simply order them back home, and we cannot ask for help from another division while they are still helping…"
"Because it would be an insult" Laura completes, nodding along, a frown on her face, "And meanwhile, you are left with a contingent of Rangers who can be ordered to up and leave in the worst of the battle."
"As revenge for letting Allison and Scott be together while in our Kingdom, yes," Stiles finishes for her, looking exasperated, "I love Scott as I would a brother, but he is not very good with thinking before acting. He is well intentioned, but he has no political involvement in his Kingdom, his mother thinks he's too young, and he isn't really… aware of all the trouble he and Allison are causing. I don't think she is either. They are just… in love."
There's something in the way he says that last sentence that makes Derek think Stiles resents them somehow, but he doesn't overanalyze it, because things are much more serious than he thought they were.
"I can arrange for a transfer of divisions once your wedding is done", Laura tells Prince Stiles, speaking directly to him, and not King Stilinski, "It wouldn't be that uncommon, seeing as you'll be family, and I have my own division, with as much of a legacy as the Argents – it makes more sense than having ties with an unknown faction in your lands."
Stiles smiles at her, and Derek hadn't even noticed how tense the boy had been until the moment the tension had gone away.
"Thank you, Lady Laura", he tells her, his voice full of sincerity and Laura smiles slightly at him.
She just nods back, and Derek looks up to see his mother hiding a smile behind a glass of wine.
Odds are she already knew all of that, and was just waiting to see of the Stilinskis would come forth with that particular problem, knowing of their history with the Argents.
Stiles looks at him, briefly, as if expecting him to say something, but Derek doesn't really know what to say – he knows that he's the one who hasn't said a word to his own intended so far, but, really, what would he talk about?
"How is life as Ranger treating you, Lady Laura?" King Stilinski asks, and Stiles turns his attention to Derek's sister again, leaving him feeling… disappointed with himself. Why does he have to be so awkward around people?
Laura's answer is a brilliant smile.
"I love it. It's all I've ever wanted, really."
"It must be really exciting" Stiles comments, "Being able to do whatever you want, living wherever you're needed the most."
King Stilinski laughs a bit fondly at his son's words.
"Stiles wanted to be a Ranger when he was a child. Scott was our ward back then, and the both of them would run around the palace challenging the guards into battle. They even had a name for their own division."
Stiles blushes a little, but doesn't seem bothered by the comment.
"If I weren't an only child, I would have done just like Lady Laura and followed my dreams."
His voice is a bit mocking, as if he's making fun of himself.
"And be dead in three days, for all your clumsiness."
"I am not that bad!" the prince exclaims, pausing for a second before continuing, "Anymore."
The Stilinskis trade a smile as the women in the table laugh quietly.
"Derek was never clumsy," Cora tells them, "He always wanted to be a soldier, always serious faced and taking all of his duties so very seriously."
"Oh, well, our children will at least have a shot at being graceful their whole lives then", Stiles tells them, looking at Derek again, but Derek is having an internal break down at the thought of children.
They'll be having children.
"It'll be good to have children in the palace again", Talia says, a small smile on her lips.
"After the war is done" Stiles says, his voice calm and extremely firm, as if he is getting ready to fight for it, "I know we haven't put any dates on our contracts, but I won't have children before the war is done, and my father's Kingdom is safe."
Again, his eyes look for Derek's, and he just nods – he wouldn't want his children to be born as he's away, fighting.
"Oh, surely. There's no rush, after all you are both still so young" Talia amends, smile in place, and Stiles seems a bit more relieved.
Prince Stiles, Derek notices, seems ready to fight for any and everything he wants. Headstrong. Stubborn, maybe. Probably.
What is he getting into here?
The conversation seems to calm down a bit after that, turning lighter and not so heavy as its beginning, and Derek spends the rest of the meal watching Stiles interact with his family and his own father.
It's not until they are saying their farewells that Derek realizes he hasn't said a single word to Stiles for the whole meal.
"You know, Derek, as much as it is important for us to like your future husband, we won't actually be able to build this relationship foryou. Eventually, you will have to actually talk to Prince Stiles." Cora doesn't sound as if she's joking or berating him, she sounds truly worried.
"I know. I'm just…"
"He watches", Laura says for him, and is he ever grateful for his sister right now, "He watches and he gets to know someone from a distance first. Just because he isn't talking, doesn't mean he's not paying attention. Leave him alone."
"As much as I agree with Laura, Cora has a point – we know you, Derek; Stiles doesn't. He is younger than you, and even though we can all see he has as much control over their kingdom as his father does, he is still a boy who is being married off to a family he has never met before, and who will have duties as a husband to a man he knows nothing about, except what rumors have told him so far. You'll have a lifetime to get to know each other, but your wedding is in less than four days, and you two should really, at the very least, be able to talk to each other by then."
His mother, of course, is right.
"What do you suggest?"
"Take him for a picnic by one of the lakes", Cora tells him, looking thoughtful, "They'll have breakfast in their own ward, go there after it and invite him, ride there, just the two of you and whatever guard his father deems appropriate, and spend lunch there. Show him the beauty of his future land, make him feel welcome", she stares at him, as if despairing a bit for his ways, "You will be his husband, Derek. Let him see you for who you are."
He looks at his mother then, and she smiles.
"I think it's a wonderful idea."
Sighing, he nods and excuses himself – apparently, he has a picnic to prepare.
X
Stile is tired.
Not only from the road itself, but also from the cut he actually has, and that now is bothering him even though is not deep, and mainly for the meal, in which his intended didn't say a single word to him.
He is so very, very tired.
"It could have been worse", his father tells him, knowing with a single look what is bothering Stiles, with that way he has of just… knowing things.
"The only way that could have gone worse is if Prince Derek had declared he didn't want to marry me. So far, he has only given all the signs he doesn't want this match."
"Then maybe we should withdraw and go back home."
"Father."
Stiles's voice is trying for serious, but the truth is he wants to laugh, because as much as his father has been a King for over twenty years, the offer is completely serious.
If Stiles so much as said the word, King Stilinski wouldn't care about the conflicts it would create, or how bad it would look, he wouldget Stiles out of this match.
His father had always been a husband before a King, and a father before anything else – and while it's amazing, and it makes Stiles feel as if he could do anything at all, it is also the main reason they don't have an Army strong enough to fight Daehler off and the reason they have no important alliances – oh, the McCalls help them out of friendship, of course, but they aren't exactly powerful or wealthy.
"Maybe he's just shy" the King tries, pouring himself some wine, and getting out of his cloak and vest, sitting tiredly on an armchair by the fireplace.
"Probably. We should perhaps try and talk before we are married, though", he sighs, sitting too, "I just hope he doesn't call off the wedding because he didn't like me, or thinks I'm not adequate. I'd still rather marry silent and broody than Jackson."
His father huffs a laugh at that, not sounding Kingly at all.
"Lady Lydia would kill you as soon as the wedding was done."
"Why don't they just get married?" Stiles asks, "Everyone knows they'll end up together."
"Because Prince Whittemore still thinks he won't be enough of a King if he's not married to someone of Royal blood. You do know his proposal came just a day after Queen Talia's for Derek."
"Foolish kid."
"Not every Prince thinks like you do, Stiles", his father's voice is fond but sad at the same time, "I know I didn't."
Stiles doesn't answer to that, choosing to get up, hug his father good night and head to his own room.
Tired. So, so tired.
"My prince," the voice doesn't startle him as much as it should, seeing as he is be used to it.
"Jordan…" He starts, but the man just comes away from the shadows he had been hiding in, looking at him with a small smile.
"How was dinner with your intended?"
"We don't have to…"
"I want to know. You don't have to tell me, if you do not wish to do so, but I do want to know. It's about your life and your happiness, and I want you to be happy."
"It was… confusing."
He says no more than that, and Jordan looks at him as if he wants to whisk him away and hide him from the world – as he had offered to do on more than one occasion.
He isn't even sure if he is brave for staying and saying no, or a coward for not following his heart. All he knows is his Kingdom needs its Prince to marry, needs a line to continue his father's legacy, and needs the help against an invader, and he can do it.
The fact that he loves his captain of the guard with everything he has can have no bearing on what he chooses to do with his life. He has a duty, and he has to be a Prince before being… Stiles. He knows it, and Jordan knows it, but it doesn't make any of them any happier about their fate.
"I should sleep", Stiles says, feeling awful and guilty on top of tired, but Jordan only smiles softly at him, coming closer. Stiles closes his eyes, feeling the man kiss his forehead and leaving his room quietly, knowing he'll probably be outside his door half the night, and wake up hours before what should be his next shift to protect Stiles from everything.
Jordan always puts Stiles in front of everything else.
Stiles just wishes he could do the same for him, but he can't.
This is the one thing that is not his to have.
Sighing, he changes and goes to bed, trying to at least get some sleep – tomorrow he'll have to find a way to make his intended talk to him.
It seems hard enough without him spending the night awake, worrying about something he can't change.
He closes his eyes and goes to sleep – tomorrow will be a long, long day.
X
Stiles has breakfast with his father, and after that he finds a small niche, secluded in a corner at the end of a long corridor, hidden behind curtains and looking out the gardens of the palace, which are stunning.
Triskele is a beautiful kingdom in a beautiful land, but it's not Beacon, and he misses home already. He misses Scott and Allison; he misses his own stable and the horses he used to sneak out to look after when he was younger. He misses his chambers, his library, hishome.
He misses not feeling as if he's already failing by existing.
He sighs, letting all the air rush out of him in one go, and hears a small chuckle at his back.
"Now, that sounds gloomy."
He shrugs, leaning against the balcony again, as Jordan comes closer.
"Not feeling particular happy, seeing as I can't even get my intended to talk to me, and the safety of my kingdom depends on this marriage."
"If he does not wish to marry you, then he is a fool."
"I am your Prince, you have to be loyal to me and say things like that", the tries to lighten the mood by joking, but the other man just takes one more step forward.
"You know you are much more to me than a Prince. You are my everything." Jordan comes even closer, and Stiles turns his head away.
"Don't… come any closer, Jordan, I… I cannot do this."
Jordan stops just a few steps away and Stiles can practically feel the other man's frustration.
"I only wish to see you happy. I only wish I could be the one to make you so."
"You know that can never be", Stiles's voice is small, and his day was already bad enough without adding this to it – this reminder of all the things he can't have, all the songs all the bards sing about true love and happiness and he cannot have it.
"I just wish there was another way, Stiles. That you could…"
"I can't do this again, Jordan."
"I know. I do not wish to hurt you, my love."
Yet it's all he's doing right now – hurting Stiles just by existing, by making him know he's there, so close and yet completely out of his reach. Stiles turns away, and Jordan takes a step back.
Distant, just as he should be.
X
Derek wakes up early and goes to the kitchens, having his servants prepare a good lunch that can be carried by horse to the prettiest of the lakes they have around the palace. Talia meets him for breakfast, glad that he is apparently making an effort, and he goes out in search of King Stilinski to ask for permission to take Stiles out.
The King stares at him from his chair where he is examining a few contracts, and gives his permission for them to go with no guards, warning him covertly about talking to Stiles, so his son will stop feeling miserable.
Derek leaves his chambers with the location of where Prince Stiles might be, and feeling already a failure for making the boy feel inadequate.
He has to fix this.
He is quiet on his way to the niche King Stilinski told him Stiles would be, thinking about everything his mother and sisters told him – he can make this work if he puts some effort into it.
Maybe he can even be happy.
As he turns the corner towards the last balcony, he hears voices and stops, not wanting to intrude.
"I just wish there was another way, Stiles. That you could…"
"I can't do this again, Jordan" comes Stiles's voice as an answer, and Derek strains to hear more clearly, knowing this isn't right, but not being able to stop himself.
"I know. I do not wish to hurt you, my love."
The voice is soft, and caring, and loving, and it belongs to Parrish. To Sir Jordan.
Derek's heart freezes in his chest.
"I know you never would, but you also know we can never have this. It was never meant to be, Jordan. It never did, and it never will. I cannot do this. I am to be married to Prince Derek in three days, and he and I will rule Triskele, and our son will rule Beacon one day, and I will make him happy. I would never betray my intended, even if he seems to think I'm somehow lacking."
Derek leans just a bit towards the voices, seeing their shapes through the curtains.
Stiles is leaning against the balcony, Jordan is respectfully distant, his back to Derek.
"I know. I just… wish", Parrish laughs quietly, almost a sigh, "You cannot fault a man for wishing he could have whom he loves in his arms, even if just once."
"It wasn't meant to be" it's Stiles's answer, his voice breaking, and Derek turns around very carefully, going back to the beginning of the corridor, making noise as he walks back in, so that both men will have some time to notice him.
As he turns the corner, Sir Jordan is coming out of the balcony, his eyes red, silent tears falling down his cheeks.
He doesn't apologize or comment on his own visible sadness – he nods at Derek, bows his head as any Lord would to a Prince, and keeps on walking, disappearing down the corridor.
When Derek enters the balcony, crossing the curtain separating it from the rest of the room, Stiles is looking out at the forest. He stops beside his intended, looking at his profile, as the boy doesn't really acknowledge him in anyway, except for absolutely not startling as he stops by his side.
Unlike Sir Jordan, Stiles isn't crying – his eyes are dry and sad, but firm. His mouth is set in a hard line, as if he's stopping himself from talking, and despite the sadness, his eyes also show determination.
"My sister suggested I take you for a ride and a picnic by one of our lakes", he tells the boy, not really knowing how to approach the subject except with his usual bluntness. "They are quite beautiful, and seeing as our wedding is three days away and we haven't really talked at all, it seemed like a good idea that we get to know each other a little bit more."
"It's a wonderful idea" Stiles answers him, smiling a little as he looks at Derek without turning around, "What time do you have in mind?"
"We should leave in about an hour if we want to get to the most beautiful of the lakes in time for lunch."
Stiles nods at him with a small smile on his lips, and Derek nods back.
"Your father doesn't seem to think you would agree to a guard following you – we'll still be inside the palace's limits, but if you want to take anyone with you…" he trails off, and Stiles shakes his head minutely.
"I think I'll be safe enough with you."
Derek can only nod and turn around, leaving him be.
It seems like Laura was right after all.
He goes to the stables and gets two of his horses ready to go. Not long after, Prince Stiles comes out of the palace, again in riding breaches and his leather vest, looking more comfortable in his own skin than dressed in silk and long capes. He gets on his horse and Derek starts leading them away without really speaking, and he can see how nervous that makes Stiles, but he doesn't know how to start.
They ride in silence, Prince Stiles getting more and more anxious by the minute, which in turn makes Derek anxious as well, and he doesn't know how to break this cycle. It takes them a little over an hour to get to the lake, and by then Stiles is biting his lower lip with such insistency Derek is sure he'll break the skin there any minute now.
He gets off his horse and pulls a long blanket from one of his saddlebags, putting it on the ground and arranging the food he had had prepared on it.
He should say something, and he can't.
He is the adult here, by all the gods, how can he be so inadequate at it?
"Do you regret this?" Stiles asks him when the baskets of food are on the blanket, and he isn't even looking at Derek, he's just taking food out of the containers, his hands never stopping. "You heard us this morning, I know you did, and I would excuse myself for it, but you were already unhappy yesterday, so I don't think it's the conversation you overheard that made you this… unhappy with this match."
"I don't regret it", he tells the boy, who seems to be more nervous with each word, "And I am not unhappy", he pauses, sitting down on the other side of the blanket, as far away from his intended as he could be, "I was not unhappy."
"You have a very strange way of showing happiness then."
Derek shrugs, because that is true. He has a hard time showing emotions, mainly because the one time he did, it was used against him, and it's extremely difficult for him not to try and protect everything he feels with all he has.
"I was going to tell you this morning, about Jordan and I", he pauses, but Derek doesn't say anything, just waits for him to talk, as he seems to be good at it in a way Derek isn't, "Nothing ever happened between us, I swear it to you. I know a lot of Royal families do not care for that purity talk anymore, but if yours do, I am untouched", he looks down as he speaks, looking angry at what he is saying, but determined to say it anyway, "I know there are spells that can be used to see if I'm telling you the true and I…"
"I would never ask that of you" Derek interrupts, frowning.
He must really have made the worst impression on the boy if he thinks Derek would demand that of anyone.
"I always knew nothing would come of what Jordan felt for me, and I for him. We never… anything, really", he completes with a sad little smile, "Stolen glances and words that disappear with the wind, nothing more."
Derek watches him for a long moment.
"Does your father know?"
Stiles shakes his head negatively, pouring wine in two glasses and offering one of them for Derek, who has to come closer to take it.
He doesn't move away again.
"He doesn't. No one does, really, apart from you."
"Not even Prince McCall? You said he is your best friend, and he lives in your palace."
Stiles laughs at that.
"Anything that isn't Allison doesn't seem to register with Scott lately, I'm afraid", he sighs, looking over the lake, the bright sunlight hitting his pale skin, "They wouldn't understand it, anyway. Not him, not my father."
"He would let you marry Sir Parrish. He would give you his blessing," Derek says, knowing it's the truth – King Stilinski would never deny his son his happiness.
"Yes, he would."
Stiles doesn't say anything else, and Derek looks over the lake too, considering things.
Why is this kid even agreeing to this match, if his heart so obviously belongs to another? Who would put themselves through this sort of pain if it is so easily avoided?
Maybe he is afraid of the repercussions of breaking the contract, but if Derek were to do it…
"Please, do not do what you're considering", Stiles's voice breaks into his thoughts, and he turns to face the boy.
"You have no way of knowing what I'm considering."
"You are thinking of going to your mother and begging her to stop this wedding. Of telling her you do not wish this match, and shaming your reputation so it won't have to happen. And then you are thinking of going to my father and telling him how much I love Jordan, and how much he loves me too, and begging him to let that become a marriage."
Stiles looks at him then, shaking his head slightly, as if not quite understating how someone could think that would be a good idea, and Derek couldn't understand why it wouldn't.
"Why don't you want me to do so? It wouldn't soil your name or that of your house."
"We need this alliance, Derek. My father needs it, our Kingdom needs it, and I would never put my own needs in front of those of my people."
Derek shakes his head, then, exasperated with this boy.
"Aren't you angry with it? Don't you think it unfair that you have to leave the one you love behind so you can do your duty? Marriage shouldn't have to be about duty, it should be about love. Your people shouldn't make you do something that will make you unhappy. It's not fair that you are sacrificing your happiness for the people who can have their own."
"Have you ever been cold?" Stiles asks, startling Derek at the calm in his voice, at the ease in his gestures, tilting his head to the side curiously in the face of Derek's outburst, "Have you ever gone hungry? Have you ever feared for your life when the rain is so strong that you do not know if your house will hold up? Have you ever woken up so early the sun isn't even up yet and worked so hard your hands will bleed, and then come back so late you can barely find your path home, before sleeping some and eating little, and then doing it all over again the next day? Have you ever worried for the life of your mother, or father, or sisters when they are sick and you do not know if you will be able to afford the medicine, or if the physician who's treating them is good enough? Have you ever had to think about what you'll do for supper tomorrow, or if you will have breakfast on your table, or about sewing your own clothes, or growing your own food?" Derek doesn't answer, and Stiles smiles gently at him, "My people have. Our people have. Why would I begrudge them the onehappiness they can have that I can't, when their lives are so much harder, so much more meaningful, and yet I live in comfort while they suffer? Life is not a fairy tale where the Princes always get what they want, the Princesses are always fair, and the times are always good. People go hungry, they grow thirsty, they work themselves too hard, and they suffer when war is upon us. You need our harbors for trade, but we need your Army, and without it, my people will suffer even more than they have, and as their prince, it is my duty to protect them through whatever means I can."
"We would lend you help, even without this match."
Stiles smiles again, as if thinking Derek is naïve, and he's starting to believe that maybe he is.
"My father could never accept that. You would have refused my hand in marriage, tarnished my reputation for no reason. If he accepted your help, he would be admitting that all the rumors that will come of it are true, and there will be plenty of those. The only way to keep our reputation intact would be to forfeit the treaties between out lands, and we cannot have that. We need your Army against Daehler's attacks, and you need our harbors to keep up your trade so your people won't go lacking for what they need to have better lives. We forfeit our treaties, both of our Kingdoms will suffer, and for what? So I can have a life with the man I'm in love with?" he shakes his head, "It's too steep a price to pay for the happiness of two people."
Derek sighs then, feeling oddly sad at the whole situation, but no longer angry. What right does he have to be angry?
"Your parents married for love."
"And yours didn't" Stiles counterpoints, "Does that mean they were any less happy?"
Derek doesn't answer and his betrothed takes a sip of his wine, looking at Derek as he speaks.
"My mother was the third daughter of a very low Lord. She wasn't a stunning beauty, or had any particular traits that would make her anything but a woman, but my father loved her more than life itself. He often says that had I not been born, he wouldn't have survived her death. He never looked upon another woman, never thought of remarrying after her death, and still wears his wedding ring as if she's home waiting for his return. Their story is sung in many songs and poems in our Kingdom, in some of the other Kingdoms too, but the reality is that a whole generation passed with no strong alliances made between our Kingdom and others. My father is an only child, as am I, and no one else could be tied by marriage to our lands. We are not as strong as we once were because of it, and we are paying the price for that right now with Daehler's advance and our lack of strong allies." He stops talking then, and stares at Derek with a small smile on his lips, "So, you see, if you were to go to your mother and call this whole thing off, our Kingdoms could never be allies again until the next generation had a wedding, and I would have to marry Prince Jackson anyway, for we would still need aid, and then I would be killed by the Lady Lydia. Would you wish that fate upon me?" he asks, smile still there, charming as can be, and yet so very sad, and so very wise.
Derek takes a deep breath then, raising his glass at Stiles.
"I would not wish a marriage to Jackson upon my worst enemy."
"I think you will have to keep me, then" Stiles says at last, and Derek nods once, drinking his wine.
He may be older, and he may be more experienced in life, but Stiles is ready to be King.
And Derek has much still to learn.