"Princess Tao."
His voice startled her. Having been lost in her own thoughts, she failed to notice the young man approaching. When she turned around, she found him dropping down on one knee; gaze firmly planted on the ground and his long blonde braid falling to the side. "Oh, Algira, I didn't hear you. Please stand up. What's the matter?" She asked.
Complying with her request, he stood and gave her a quick nod before explaining why he had approached her. "Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you, Princess Tao, but Queen Kouren asked me to tell you that another meeting with the generals will be held at noon."
"Thank you for letting me know, Algira," she replied, and he gave her a quick grin in return and walked up to her, placing himself on her right side looking out over the royal garden. Admittedly, he wasn't a man well versed in the art of conversation. Preferring to communicate either through his cats or his fists depending on the situation, he often let others converse in his stead, but it was clear as day that his princess was troubled by something, and if he could help in any way, then he would try. Picking up and giving the dapple-grey kitten he had been carrying in his pocket a quick snuggle, he offered him to the princess with an encouraging nod.
She smiled as she accepted the dazed little thing—trust Algira to always carry at least one kitten somewhere on him—but seeing the surprised expression on the kitten's face, she couldn't help but giggle. He must have fallen asleep in the folds of Algira's tunic and was now rather confused about being picked up and handed over to another human. At least that was what she supposed as she took him in her hands and began scratching his soft belly. Melodious purring soon reverberated through the air and tickled her fingertips as the kitten made himself comfortable in her arms.
They stood quietly for a little while; both admiring the warm colours autumn had painted the garden. Still scratching the tummy of the small kitten in her arms, she bit her lip for a moment before sighing slightly. "Algira, what do you think of Xing becoming a vassal state for Kuoka?"
"What do you mean, Princess Tao?" He asked slightly stupefied by the question, "I thought that's what you wanted?"
"Yes, I do believe it's for the best of our country. If we were to head out to war against Kuoka kingdom, there would be far too much bloodshed, on both sides, and we would undeniably be crushed. Though I can only hope that King Soowon will uphold his end of the bargain and not endanger our people unnecessary. Yona seems to trust in his ruling and I trust her judgment. Sometimes though, I just wish everything was different."
"Hm, can't say much about King Soowon, but Yona-nyan is badass, and I think you did the right thing in trusting her. I believe in you and your decisions. You'll always have my support and I'll do everything I can to make your ideas come true," he answered with no little amount of fervour evident his voice, and she forced out a lopsided smile to answer his heartfelt declaration. Such sincerity was not unusual for Algira. He often vocalised his approval of her ruling, and she could not fault him for showing his support for her. However, she would have liked for him to, just once, offer his own thoughts on the matter. She knew he would not, though. Too many rules and conventions stood between them for her to expect him to openly express anything less than utter agreeance, and the bitterness that accompanied that thought surprised her.
She could not help thinking about other leaders and their subordinates, such as her sister and the five stars. In particular, her strict and distant relationship with Neguro, and how it had ended in tragedy. On the other side of the spectrum, she thought of the close relationship Miss Yona and her friends shared, in particular, the one between her and her bodyguard, Hak, which was ridiculously complicated. Tao's thoughts lingered on how they differed in everything: from shallow expressions of everyday matters to more fundamental identifications of one other. Even the daughter of the head of Kuoka's Water tribe, Lili, and her female bodyguards shared a relationship she could not quite define. It seemed built on mutual respect and entailed less of the strict rules that had come to define hers and Algira's. While he spoke to her informally, something she was grateful of—because that was simply who he was—there was still a wall of customs and unspoken regulations between them that she felt she was not quite bold enough to cross. The intricate patterns a relationship between a princess and her subject consisted of were fascinating and frustrating to observe, and even more so to follow.
Comforting yet restricted, simultaneously both distant and entrusting.
So there they stood: the princess and her vassal, him wishing to support her and bring her joy, her longing to know his opinions and thoughts.
Both craving to understand the other better, neither quite brave enough to openly say so.