Well, I had actually planned to put this with the rest of the first chapter, but I decided that that might make it way too long. I hope you guys like these two chapters that I just kind of hammered out while this idea was still bouncing in my head. And if anything's confusing you guys, just ask, I'll be trying to leave nothing unexplained in this AU. Without further ado. Continue with the show.
"You know, it took me quite some time to figure out about your little secret, my prince." Wolf grinned slightly. Fox could feel the anxiety in his voice. "I'm sure you heard the prophecies. 'He who bears the runes of the dynast king, and he who bears the runes of the Morning queen, both are intertwined. While both live, the world is bound to repeat its fate, unless the two bond together to make a change." Wolf smirked as Fox froze up for half a second, enough for Wolf to keep him busy with dancing.
"Well, I'll have you know, there's a little secret I'll have you know about me, even though we've only just met." Wolf smirked, showing Fox the back of his hand that he had kept hidden from him. The rune on the back of his hand was unmistakable. Fox gasped in surprise, frozen in place as the silver-haired man spun him back around to face him, his Violet eyes shining with joy. "So I see you recognize it. Yes, it's one of the pair of runes of the Morning Queen. The other is on my other hand, of course. So, I've been searching for you, and after failing to find you after your visit to Duke Trell, I figured I might be able to catch you on the day of your coronation, go figure." Wolf grinned, giving Fox another quick twirl before returning to their dance.
"But… They said that the runes of the Morning Queen were a myth; her legacy died with her and the Dynast King. Hell, they even said that my having the Dynast King's runes was said to be some sort of weird fluke, that They shouldn't exist." Fox sputtered, barely managing to keep pace with his dance partner. "Part of me doesn't want to believe you, but it's hard not to. The runes are telling me that it's the real deal. And yet here I still feel like I should just slap you right here and now." Fox frowned slightly, trying to ignore the fact that the hand that Wolf was holding on to was tingling rather comfortably.
"Try all you want to ignore the truth, my Prince, but I know your rune is reacting the same way mine is. That comfortable feeling you get when our skin touches. That warm feeling you get when I got close to you. You can't deny it." Wolf smirked, whispering so only Fox could hear. All eyes were on them, as Fox did his best not to trip up as the band faded out signaling the end of the song. All the current guests applauded at the show put on by their prince and this mystery man. Fox swore he could even hear some of the ladies pouting that the mystery man got to dance with him and not them.
"Well, what a lovely surprise, who knew our young prince could dance so well." Peppy commented, grinning from the top of the stairs as kitchen staff wheeled out some rolling tables into the room, full of different foods. Steaks, Chicken, all kinds of meats and vegetables. "As a compliment to such a lovely performance, how about we all dig in and enjoy the spectacle that is the castle's kitchen crew working to provide you all the best of the best." Peppy smiled, striding down the stairs towards Fox and the mystery man.
"Ah, it seems like your guardian is making his way towards us." Wolf grinned, giving Fox a pat on the back before greeting Peppy with a warm smile.
"Well well, you must be a rather charming man if you could get Fox to dance with you." Peppy chuckled, holding out his hand to Wolf with a smile.
"Well, I have been told I have a great smile." Wolf laughed, shaking Peppy's hand with a laugh. Fox blushed a bit as Wolf's hand never left his back, leaving him feeling warm inside due to their proximity.
"Hahah, that's a good trait to have, I'm sure." Peppy chuckled, impressed with the man's handshake. "I can't say I've seen you around Corneria, Sir…?" he trailed off, his way of asking the taller male his name.
"Ah, I've just been traveling through, really; Heard that the kingdom was getting a new prince, so I decided to stop in. My name is Wolfric Kenneth O'Donnell." He bowed as he told the elderly man his name. "As well as reporting news to whatever ear is willing to hear it." He continued with a grin.
"Oh, and what news would that be?" Peppy asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion as he led Fox and Wolf away from the crowd, over to a more secluded table, nodding at a waiter to bring them some plates of food and some drinks.
"Well, news that Venotia had been planning a rebellion against the crown, and that they had been deciding to try to hire mercenaries to fight against the crown." Wolf spoke around a piece of turkey leg he had snatched from one of the newly arrived plates of food. "But- ah this is good- the thing is, these mercenaries are from surrounding kingdoms, specifically Sauria, and Retilla. Normally this wouldn't be the kind of thing for a kingdom such as Lylat to be worried about, but when I was last passing through, a man named Andross was rallying the troops together, spending out of his own pocket to give them the best military training he could. He's also stirring the masses together in an uproar, and with that, It'd only be a matter of time before he marches on the castle with his troops."
Peppy's eyes widened at the news, clenching the arms of his chair tightly in shock. "You're kidding me. Tell me you're pulling my chain." Peppy murmured, sighing. He sipped at his chardonnay and muttered something inaudible to himself as Fox yelped a bit, causing Peppy to raise his eyebrow at the young man.
"Sorry. Wolf just accidentally kicked me." Fox scowled at the taller man, lips pursed in obvious discontent. His lie seemed to fool Peppy enough for him. That warm tingly feeling was back, as Wolf had taken his hand in his own, lacing their fingers together like old lovers usually do. Fox shot him another look, a get your hands off me look, but even then it wasn't nearly menacing enough for the slightly older male, who just chuckled and shrugged, even having the gall to try to seem innocent. Fox kicked him in the shin quickly, smirking smugly.
"Well, if Venotia is deciding to rebel, then we'd better get our defenses in place. Fox, you can use spirit magic as well, right?" Peppy turned to the young prince, pulling out a piece of parchment from one of the belt pouches he always wore, writing notes down with a quill and inkwell he pulled from another pouch. Fox knew he always had reason to be worried about the old man, especially if he carried quill and parchment around everywhere for no good reason. Fox nodded his affirmation, sighing.
"I can use spirit magic, yes, but I'm horrible at it, remember?" Fox rolled his eyes, sighing slightly at the grim reminder.
"Well, if it's defenses you need, I can definitely help." Wolf offered, grinning as he leaned back in his seat, adjusting his tunic with one hand where it was riding up from sitting too long.
"Great, I'll get the barrier guard to put up a multilayer defense wall soon enough. As for you, Wolf, I'd actually much rather you infiltrate the Venotian army, and I'll contact you every so often through a magic mirror." Peppy explained, passing a small mirror over to the taller man, its ornate gold carvings with rubies and sapphires making a row down either side. "It'll heat up and make a noise, which only you can hear because it'll be attuned to your own magic flow, and if you can't answer, just push a flow of mana back into it with that intention, and we'll be notified. And vice versa. If you need to contact us, do the same, one of us will be able to pick it up." Peppy continued his explanation, pulling out his own and handing one to Fox as well. Wolf seemed rather surprised by the new technology.
"So is this another of Slippy's inventions?" Fox chuckled, Peppy's nod making him break out into a bit of laughter.
"So I'm assuming this 'Slippy' you mention. He's been gifted by the gods with such incredible intelligence that he could create something like this? Does it work by spirits or runes?" Wolf blinked at the small object resting in his palm, looking more bewildered than Fox ever thought possible. Fox let out a small chuckle at the other man's surprise.
"You could say that." Fox grinned, shrugging as he leaned forward, sighing. "Well, I guess that it makes sense, sending him into the fray to gather information. The fact that he could manage to gather even that information is proof enough that he is good enough at what he does to actually stay alive." Fox shot a look at the offending party, trying to free his hand from the lecher.
"Hey now, just because I'm good at gathering intel, doesn't necessarily mean that I'll find a way to stay alive." Wolf pouted, brushing the silver locks out of his left eye occasionally out of irritated habit. "There's really no guarantee that I'll be able to do this for ya. But I can guarantee that I can get a man to do it for ya." Wolf chuckled, grinning.
"Well, if you have someone you'd rather send on this mission in your stead, we can't really decline your offer, since you seem to have some reason to want to stay around here." Peppy shrugged. "Plus I'm sure you'd be a huge help to us with the defense squadron, for when Venotia's army does decide to march. Let's meet your man to send in first, and we'll figure everything else out." Peppy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "The fact that we've got a war knocking on our doorstep is definitely not a pleasant thought." He sighed.
"Definitely." Fox muttered, frowning into his cup. He felt Wolf's hand leave his, and part of him was relieved, and yet, something deep down was particularly sad about it, too. He sipped at his wine, sighing softly into the glass, hoping no one could tell he was conflicted.
"I'll get in contact with Leon and Caruso. They can probably do a good enough job that we won't even need to work in the unpredictable for our little plan." Wolf explained, propping his elbows up on the table as he laced his fingers together, resting his chin on his hand with a lazy shrug.
"Well, there's always going to be the unpredictable. But if your guys are so experienced, then we can definitely narrow down any exceptions." Peppy turned to face Fox, a worried look crossing his face quickly and disappearing as fast as it came. He sighed. "And Fox, can you manage to double the training routines for the recruits and cadets? We'll need them all to be nearly as good at combat as you are, and I trust your training methods." Peppy smiled slightly at the young prince.
"Yeah, I can definitely step up the training. In fact, just out of my own personal guard, some of the cadets are at the point of almost surpassing me in skill." Fox chuckled softly, smiling fondly as he remembered his training that morning. "I'll definitely have to keep up my own training to stay on par with them." Fox laughed, shrugging. He rubbed the back of his hand as he held his cup, bitter expression plastered on his face.
"How's it treating you Fox? The rune, I mean." Peppy asked sincerely, his expression softening.
"It's not killed me, yet. I had to use it against Pigma, because the bastard attacked me first. The most unsettling thing is that I've been hearing it speaking to me now. 'Find the Morning Queen.' It would tell me. 'Let nothing stand in your way, crush everything to dust.' It would chant. Some days I can't even separate my thoughts from what it's telling me." Fox sighed, looking away slightly ashamed.
"That's a lot worse than I thought. And right now?" Peppy asked, tilting his head curiously.
"It's a lot more subdued the past few days. I don't know why." Fox shrugged, averting his gaze, acutely aware of Wolf's gaze on him. He felt Wolf's hand on his thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and suddenly things seemed a little less problematic to Fox. Fox sighed softly as he set down his cup, staring at the back of his hand, where the rune lay etched into his skin.
"Well, we'll definitely find a way to fix that whole problem. Just gotta let Slippy take care of it." Peppy laughed, not noticing the look Wolf gave Fox, or how Wolf placed his hand on Fox's back comfortingly.
"We've got much bigger problems to deal with, Peppy. There's that 'Lunatus' that's causing trouble in the baronies within the kingdom, and to top it all off, I'm pretty sure that Macbeth might be in danger, if Venotia is starting to plan a war against us." Fox tried to redirect the conversation, taking a bite of the steak that was sitting invitingly in front of him. An excuse to try not to speak, to keep his own brain from giving away some things he wasn't ready to share.
"This is a good point. I did overhear someone saying that they were considering overrunning Macbeth for its resources and treasures. It's definitely going to be a big blow to the Kingdom if they manage to overtake the city. They seem to be planning a war of attrition." Wolf mumbled, tapping his chin in thought.
"We're stationing some of our prestigious members of our Dragon Cavalry there, as they are to be on guard, mostly for if the old king Pigma Dengar ever managed to get out of his punishment. They are en-route now, but we can also send our Dark Guard with them just in case. Their darkness runes can definitely help protect Macbeth. I'll tell them to set up an illusion around the Venotian side border of the city, that'll at least stall them enough to allow us to get more reinforcements to defend the city." Peppy sighed, biting his lower lip as he tapped on the table, going over maps and the like in his head.
"Well, the dragon cavalry will definitely be a welcome defense, they don't have anything like it in the Venotian army, last time I was around there." Wolf grinned. "That'll definitely help out there." Fox sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He heard the party start dying down, looking around as he watched some of the people go about their business, leaving the castle.
"Well, we should start dismissing the guests, it's getting late." Fox suggested, as he looked out one of the openings in the ballroom designed to provide more natural light. "If you don't have a place to stay, Wolf, then you can stay here in the Castle." Fox said, turning away as he tried to hide the blush that crossed his cheeks.
"Heh, I think I'll take you up on that offer, I just happened to be passing by so I don't have any rooming right now, never really got the time to find some space in a tavern." Wolf grinned, standing up from his seat with Fox and Peppy and stretching a bit. "We can discuss our plans a bit more tomorrow."
"Yeah. That'd be a good idea." Peppy nodded, standing up as well. Fox stayed seated, humming to himself as Wolf moved behind him. He was thinking, not really liking where his mind was taking him.
"I guess. I'll show you to your room, Wolf." Fox stated, quickly standing up and walking to the stairs, tapping his chin. "Just try not to get lost." Fox chuckled softly. Peppy shot him a worried glance and nodded, standing in front of the stairs as he addressed the rest of the party goers, announcing the end of the festival, and that there would be a speech the next day for the new prince. Fox trudged up the staircase to the hallway leading to his room, and Wolf's guest room. He felt Wolf's gaze on him the whole time, the taller of the two almost leering at Fox.
"You know, it's rude to stare." Fox sighed, turning around quickly and glaring at Wolf. "I know you think that you're some sort of Chosen one to me, but you're really getting a little tiring to deal with. Constantly touching me and all that. You're just making my situation worse." Fox scowled, Wolf's cocky smirk only serving to frustrate him even more. He wished more than anything that he could hit the man, but he knew that he couldn't take on the taller, more muscular male without a little help.
"I'm here to try to help you, Fox. I apologize if it bothers you, but I can feel what you're feeling, if only a little bit. I'm only helping in the only way I ever learned how." Wolf shrugged, leaning against a nearby wall as he watched Fox's face heat up in another blush. "I will try to stop with the constant touching and whatnot, but it's the easiest way I know to calm you down or make you feel better, with our runes being linked and all." Wolf honestly wasn't sure why Fox was getting so uppity about this whole situation. Sure he was a little vague in his relaying of the foretold prophecy, but it worked out in his favor that Fox hadn't even heard of such a thing.
Fox sighed and shook his head. "I'll just show you to your room, and then tomorrow we can deal with the whole plan to take care of the Venomian threat. Hopefully the Dragon Guard we've sent to Macbeth can hold off any potential threats until we can actually post a defensive perimeter." He sighed, trying to put off the thought of going to war so suddenly after getting named Crown Prince. He rubbed his temples as he turned to go to his room, storming down the hallways. He could just feel Wolf's smug grin on his back as he stormed away. He didn't have any idea how he got saddled with such a strange individual in his care, but he had a job to do as the new ruler of the nation of Corneria and the Lylatian Kingdom. Fox groaned slightly as he stepped into his room and leaned against the door, sliding down it to rest his head in his hands.
"How did I get stuck with the strange ones?" He muttered as he shook his head. He didn't know how much more of Wolf's little eccentricities he could take, but he had to admit: having the good-looking idiot around made him a bit more calm than usual. He just wondered what the next day would bring.
Alright guys. Here's the next chapter of The Prince. I don't really know where I'm going with this one, but for gods sake I'm making it a pretty long story. And I'll try to answer some of the questions I know you guys may have. 1: They are humans in this story. I'm trying my hand at an AU and for gods sake I will make it an original thing eventually. and 2: The whole kingdom in question is the Lylatian Kingdom. The different planets from the game are different settlements, countries, and Islands in the world. so I hope that cleared things up for those of you who may be a slight bit confused. and yes, the runes from the first chapter and this one will be making a lot more appearances and explanations will be doled out by the resident exposition fairy, so there's that. hope you guys enjoy.
