Starcrossed Prophecies
Summary: "In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of two cute boys." Merlin fusion. Starshipping.
A rash decision by a young prince plunges him and his faithful companion into a reckless adventure from which there is no turning back.
As the hollow echo faded into the hall, the gossip-mongering courtiers seemed to come back to life and launched into a frenzied, if not delighted uproar and the delicious scandal that had taken place.
"Did you see that?"
"Can you believe the gall of these peasants! I do hope we're in for a public disciplining."
"Such a shame this is. That boy had such lovely blue eyes, too. Ooh, do you think the king will have them plucked out?"
The youthful prince felt his breath hitch; particularly upon the last remark. Yusei… no, he wasn't. The king would never lay waste to such a valuable servant to the throne. Still, Kaiba was in fact no man of mercy, and humiliation was perhaps his majesty's most feared position. Particularly before the entirety of the northern kingdoms during a vastly diplomatic celebration.
"Prince…" Asuka murmured, gently tugging on the male's arm as she struggled to summon the dazed royal's awareness, "We should go…-"
"How could you…" Judai murmured, turning toward the princess with vehemence the countess would have beforehand considered the happy-go-lucky prince may have been capable of. "Why did you say that? I could have told him what actually happened! Yusei was only protecting me!" The prince cried furiously, eliciting yet another round of heated gasps amongst the awestricken company surrounding.
Noting the prince was far too gone to come to reason, the maiden chose to perform a bold move; gripping his hand in a half forceful, half guiding manner before hastily evacuating her fiancé from the floors of the murmuring banquet halls. Doing such however was no easy feat, seeing as his majesty proved to be quite obstinate.
Upon making a hasty retreat from the throng of gossiping onlookers, the princess released the brunet—of whom stumbled backward inelegantly due to the force of which he'd been pulling back with. In result, his majesty's bottom had come in contact with the stone floor beneath in a rather unceremonious manner, one of which the princess held little sympathy for.
"Don't be foolish!" The honey haired maiden chastised almost instantaneously upon reaching a safe distance from the banquet turned scandal. An uncharacteristically stern expression crossed her face, causing the brunet's own to falter from one of fury into another of shock.
"Surely by now you know how the King is...Your recklessness concerning non-diplomatic matters is perhaps one of the only traits the two of you seem to have in common." The princess murmured as more so of a note to herself. Her expression remained firm, "He wouldn't be presenting himself in a good light if he were to allow a simple manservant to show him up…and certainly, under no circumstances would he allow his own son to besmirch his authority by overruling his judgment."
The explanation was met with a pair of blinking, hazel eyes as the brunet proceeded to gingerly rub his tender bottom. Still, however, the youth shook his head in a zealous defiance.
"I wasn't going to besmirch anyone's judgment! Yusei is innocent! You saw that Jun Manjoume guy—you saw Yusei stop him—everyone did!" Judai fumed, brusquely attempting to balance himself in an attempt to rise from his floored position, "I'm not going on some walk in the gardens while my friend is possibly in danger!" his majesty defended, matching the maiden's unyielding temperament with a fierceness of his own.
"And yet you remain here simply whining as a child would?" the princess spoke rather harshly, arm snapping out toward the direction of the meandering corridors in a single, swift motion.
"Go!" She exclaimed, index finger jutted out as though to guide the suddenly baffled prince, "I wouldn't count on his highness being particularly merciful. If you want to get to him before he's punished for his actions, you'll need to hurry."
Blinking, the youthful prince felt the words of which he'd primed to fire at will catch in the back of his throat. His features twisted in bewilderment, gaze shifting off in the direction of which the princess has motioned toward.
"You mean…?"
Nodding in tacit reply, the princess turned in preparation to depart back to the swarming precincts of the banquet ahead them, "You claim the title of prince…prove to me, as your future ally that you're worthy of my trust. Alba has persecuted the innocent long enough." The maiden paused, then opted to turn toward the boy this time with a small smile.
"Be careful…"
Judai's own expression mitigated upon these words, eliciting an enthusiastic nod as the adolescent royal promptly sprung into action. "Thank you, Asuka!" The brunet murmured appreciatively. And with that, the sovereign quickly turned, making for a mad dash down the hall.
Chuckling, the princess shook her head, gingerly bracing either side of the elongated dress she adorned with a noiseless sigh. Now, to have a talk with that troublesome, foolishly infatuated third prince of Cenric…
"So," the King said.
Yusei knelt in the center of the King's chambers with his arms bound tightly behind him and eyed the tall, brown-haired man standing over him through his bangs. Dimly, he wondered if this would be a punishment he would be walking away from, as he was intimately familiar with the King's particular brand of mercy, or rather his lack of it. However, he did not regret his actions for a second.
The king's blue gaze was sharp enough to puncture holes in its wake. "When I initially appointed you to be my son's manservant, I had taken you to be a more sensible man," he stated dryly. When he did not receive an immediate reply, he gestured for one of the guards to cuff the boy. "Explain yourself."
Yusei gritted his teeth as his head tilted back from the stinging hit to his cheek. Taking a steadying breath, he spoke. "I will accept any punishment you see fit, Sire."
Kaiba pursed his lips. "That does not answer my question. I will ask once more: why did you act so rashly? Speak honestly, for my patience is thin."
"I…" Yusei hesitated, lowering his eyes. "I acted to protect the prince."
The King snorted rather inelegantly. "I can see that much. But the manner you acted in was uncharacteristic. Why?"
Having no alternative but to answer, the servant steeled himself and met the King's gaze unflinchingly. "I believed that had the events played out, the Prince may lose the faith of Alba were he to be seen as an instigator of a fight. The alliance would be in jeopardy."
"Hmph. So you thought to give those leeches some juicier meat to sink their fangs into." Kaiba mused to himself, smirking. "Tell me, servant," he continued, "What has my son said to you?"
"Sire?" Yusei dared to ask in a questioning tone.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed further. "I want to know what he's said to you in regards to the union. He has been far too… cooperative, notwithstanding the latter half of the evening."
The dark-haired boy let his gaze drop to the red carpeting. "The prince has not said a word."
Kaiba glared upon the servant's form without speaking. Yusei tensed and waited for the King to finally make his displeasure known. After several long seconds, the King harrumphed and turned his back. "See that you keep him out of trouble. It is in your best interests to do so, after all."
Was… was that it? Yusei wondered, utterly mystified. Was the King not going to address his severe breach of his station at all? "Sire?"
"You are dismissed," King Seto said with finality, waving his hand to signal the guards to unbind the servant's hands. "Now, go find my son before he sets the palace on fire."
Blinking bewilderedly as he rubbed circulation back into his wrists, Yusei bowed deeply before quickly extricating himself from the chamber, before the King decided to change his mind. Leaning back against the stone walls, the manservant let out a long sigh as his migraine made itself known once again with renewed intensity. After taking a moment to gather himself, he raced down the corridor in search of his prince, seriously hoping that Judai hadn't followed his example and done something as horribly reckless.
He made a beeline back towards the banquet hall, but then wavered. Impatient as he was to see the prince, it probably wouldn't be wise for him to return to the scene of his crime, so to speak. Yusei stood uncertainly in the middle of the hallway, pondering his next steps, torn between making sure his master's worries were assuaged and lying low so not to further trouble him that evening. He hadn't exactly planned on being free to wander the castle after his stunt; at best, he had thought he would be spending the night in the dungeons at the very least.
After weighing his options, Yusei decided the most logical course of action was to await his prince in his chambers. He might as well get started on tidying the mess of strewn clothing that had been a consequence of the struggle to get the prince presentable for the banquet, and perhaps draw the prince a hot bath...
Ricocheting like an arrow from a bow, he'd managed to narrowly dodge the many maids with their platefuls of assorted delicacies and perhaps a handful of wandering drunkards. All this, to ensure his manservant would at least remain in one piece by the time he'd reached his father's study.
Chestnut eyes flaring in determination, the adolescent prince managed to launch himself toward the desired door before bursting through.
"Yusei!"
But Yusei was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Seto Kaiba's steely blue eyes briefly glanced at him disinterestedly before returning to the scrolls laid out on the thick mahogany desk. The king made a displeased noise at the interruption and continued to write. "If you're looking for that servant, you're too late."
Judai looked about the room in thinly veiled panic, "Where's Yusei? What did you do? Where is he, I want to see him right now!"
"What did I do?" the King mused absently, tapping his gold-tipped quill against the parchment. "If you paid any attention to your lessons, you should probably have gotten the vague idea that what that boy did tonight was enormously foolish. No doubt that insipid Manjoume boy will be braying for his blood."
The prince's soft features contorted into a foreign rage, hands slamming upon the polished, wooden surface of his father's deck with a deafening thud.
"I want to see him!-I want to know what you did to him!"
Kaiba snorted ungracefully. "I didn't do anything he wasn't asking for," he commented in dry, sarcastic tones. "And it is time you've stopped clinging to that... servant. It's unsightly for a prince of your status to associate with commoners. Rather than spending all your time running around with riffraff, you should be learning to govern and cultivating alliances."
"Me learning how to become king has absolutely nothing to do with him!" The brunet hissed in his own defense, "Besides, you should've been thanking him. If he didn't grab that guy when he had to I would've been toast! I don't think you'd want me showing up black and blue on my own wedding day."
The prince maintained his own threatening expression, matching his father for every ounce of defiance, "But I'm making sure that won't happen, because this wedding is off!"
The King stilled, and for the first time that day, the young prince held his undivided attention. "What was that?" Kaiba asked in calm, almost pleasant tones which were belied by a loud snap as the tip of his quill broke off against the desk. "I must not have heard you properly, Prince Judai."
"You heard me!" Judai exclaimed, seemingly unphased by the monarch's masked sense of ire, "I'm not getting married. I don't need her help. Besides, I have Yusei, can't I make him my chief advisor or something?"
"How long," the King wondered rhetorically, "do you think it took for these negotiations to be drafted?" With a clatter of his chair, Kaiba stood to his full height, which by far dwarfed the prince's. His expression sour, he regarded his son with a cool, unreadable gaze. "The fact that you're in here spouting this nonsense at me is a clear sign as to exactly how much help you do need. I'm beginning to wonder if this is the influence of that servant, feeding you with these ideas. Perhaps I was too lenient with his punishment."
A growl arose from the younger male's lips, his own narrowing eyes, filled to the brim with determination contrasting boldly against Kaiba's own. "I told you, he has nothing to do with this. He's the only reason I came to that dumb banquet anyway!"
The King breathed in deeply and if he had been a lesser man, he might have been praying for patience. Instead, he levelled his coldest glare at the furious young princeling and said with heavy finality, "Tomorrow morning, you will wed the Lady Asuka. And should you make a fuss or cause another scene like tonight's, I'll have that servant of yours publicly flayed. Are we clear?"
Fiery, russet eyes flinched, widening as though the threat had pierced his chest as one would expect the edge of a blade. The hands which remained splayed over his father's desk clenched as he bit down on the flesh of his own reddening lips in his dismay.
"…Crystal."
The King's brow knitted and for a long moment he said nothing as he watched his son who had, to his continued headaches, somehow turned out to be his opposite in every which way. Finally, he softened, as much as a man comprised entirely of knife-sharp edges could. "One day, you'll thank me," he said. "You're dismissed."
Judai simply gritted his teeth. He'd never been one to bite back his tongue, and given the current situation he was quite surprised with even himself he'd managed to hold out for so long. However, the subject of his most trusted, and loyal companion wasn't something he gambled on.
Besides… as far as the teen was concerned, he had a far different plan in mind.
Shaking his head, the prince turned toward the door, firming his previous resolve. The king was perhaps the least of his problems. The only issues he need concern himself with were the ones regarding his lack of manservant. A manservant of whom may or may not require his aid.
Without a single word, Judai crossed the threshold of the entrance, lacking the civility to even shut the door in his wake.
Yusei sighed softly as he finally finished straightening the battlefield that Prince Judai's room had become in the aftermath of the two of them trying to get him ready for the banquet. Brushing back his dark bangs with the back of his hand, Yusei leaned back against the closet. The repetitive motions of folding linens gave him some time to sort out some of the tumultuous thoughts that were rolling around in his head.
The banquet had been… a disaster to say the least. But at least they managed to avoid an international incident. Now all that's left was to get through the rest of the night and tomorrow…
He really didn't want to think about tomorrow.
It wasn't much longer before the young prince made his debut, throwing open the double doors of his bedroom in a panicked rush. He wasn't sure what it was he expected to find; terrifying images of Yusei beaten bloody taunted his mind, each time encouraging his steps to hasten just a little more. But it was a much better thought than the possibility that he would find nothing at all.
Instead, he was surprised to find the other gazing at him from across the room, with no trace of physical harm as proof of the horrors his mind had concocted. He immediately felt his shoulders slump, still panting from his strenuous workout.
"What happened?" the prince blinked.
Yusei blinked in confusion at seeing the object of his musings rush into the chamber. "Prince Judai…?" he said questioningly, upon noticing his laboured breathing. "Is… is everything alright, Sire?". Unconsciously, he kept half of his face turned just ever-so-slightly away so that his bruise faded into the shadows of the candlelit room… just in case it caused any undue worry, especially considering what had occurred in the hall earlier that night.
Judai blinked once again, dithering as he watched the shadows of the faint candlelight flicker across his skin. The question made him frown; was he alright? He was the one who had been racing down endless corridors hoping to ask the same. He straightened, recovering his breath.
"What did they do?"
"Nothing, really," Yusei replied, in a soft reassuring voice. "His Majesty just wished to speak to me. And..." Here he trailed off, averting his clouded gaze to the marble floors, feeling a lump rise up into his throat. "I deeply apologize for overstepping my role and causing a scene at your engagement ceremony. I hope… I hope you will continue to allow me to serve you."
The prince was troubled to say the least. His servant's apology was unwelcome at best, even stirring something acidic in his stomach that induced a sudden sense of nausea. Sire the word gripped him like an angry rash, and he felt the edges of his nails sink into the skin of his palms. Quickly, his relief gave way to mild irritation.
"Jeez, I thought I told you to stop being so formal." He stepped closer to the other, frowning as he watched the servant's gaze become opaque in the flickering light. "Besides, being my friend isn't your job."
"I… I apologize," Yusei repeated, looking lost and forlorn with the shadows flickering across his face. His friend. As a servant, he couldn't have been more unworthy of such a status. But his traitorous heart had even dared to…
Yusei clamped down on that thought as well and quickly smoothed his features into a gentle smile that was only reserved for Judai's eyes. "I will endeavor to remember that, Prince Judai. "
He relented somewhat as he saw a smile reach his companion's eyes, the clouds behind them clearing as they rose from the floor to meet his own. He knew that smile—it was difficult to forget. Yusei, being the relatively serious figure that he was rarely smiled. And when he did it was often to be polite. But sometimes, when they were alone, it was a smile meant for friends. The prince relaxed, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"You'd better." he shot back with a toothy grin, "Or I might have to punish you with a day off."
That startled out a quiet laugh from the ever so stoic manservant. "How terrible," he said in a deadpan, but his eyes were sparkling with mirth. "I cannot possibly imagine a fate worse than that."
The prince laughed, feeling the weight of the evening's events immediately dissipate. "Then I guess you'd better fix that attitude of yours and lighten up a little." He shot back playfully, challenging the other's sarcasm with a cheeky smirk of his own.
Yusei watched his smiling face with fond, wistful eyes and drank in the sight, hoping to forever engrave this moment into his heart. Because, come tomorrow, whether they were ready, or whether they liked it or not, change was upon them. With Judai wedded, the Lady Asuka would most likely move into his chambers and then it would be entirely inappropriate for a manservant such as himself to attend the royal couple. Yusei swallowed down a frown and ignored the sudden stinging sensation in his chest. He would make the most of this last night. "I will do my best to 'lighten up'," he bantered back, clinging onto the normalcy of the moment. "Shall I draw you a bath, Prince Judai?"
The prince took a moment to look down at himself. He was drenched in sweat from the day, no doubt looking a mess as his attire had shifted awkwardly around his body. He looked ruffled at best, and a bath in all honestly wasn't the worst idea of the evening.
He nodded, quickly making work of his itchy vest. "I guess It couldn't hurt."
Yusei smiled gently at him and stepped forward to help relieve him of his tunic. "It'll probably help you relax. You've had a long day, after all."
Allowing the other to assist in the removal of his garments, he could find no reason to argue against the other's indubitable reasoning. After all, he thought on a more serious note as he felt his eyes grow momentarily heavy, he would need it if he were to execute his plan successfully.
He let his gaze shift toward the single mosaic glass window above his bed. They had talked of running frequently. Or, Judai had most of the time. Yusei would either convince him to see reason or simply let him rant on what probably seemed like only dream in the eyes of a servant. But he was determined to make that dream real—and if there were any time to do it, it was before his fate was sealed by the covenant of marriage.
He threw a glance back at the male behind him and he felt a pang of guilt. Part of him knew he should tell the other, convince him to come with. But the other half was smart enough to know his manservant would likely hear none of it. So he simply remained silent, enjoying for the time being the presence of his best friend.
That night, Yusei could not sleep. He sighed loudly to himself, rolling over on his threadbare mattress, trying to to find a slightly more comfortable spot. Everything was weighing heavily on his mind; the engagement, Judai's unhappiness, his own feelings… His mind was a whirlwind of turmoil and confusion.
Realizing that he likely wasn't going to get a visit from Thanatos that night, Yusei pushed himself off of his cot and quietly slipped on his boots, thinking to himself that a walk might do some good in clearing his head.
Unfortunately, the chilly, evening air only succeeded in making him shiver as he realized he had neglected to pull on a jacket. Also, unhelpfully, his feet appeared to have led him to his prince's tower, having traced these steps so often that he could probably make his way there blindfolded. He stood at the base of the tower and stared up into its darkened depths with something akin to longing, inwardly amused at how much he resembled a lovelorn protagonist in a play.
Perhaps… perhaps he could pay his prince a visit, for what may very well be one last time. And maybe, just this once, selfishly, Yusei could voice to his sleeping form what he had never dared to voice. Could never voice. (And with the prince being such a heavy sleeper, he would be none the wiser.) With that thought in his head and his judgement most likely impaired by both insomnia and heartache, Yusei quietly climbed the steps.
Judai however had different plans.
He gripped the strap of his bag, hoisting it over his shoulders as he pushed open the glass window. He hadn't packed much, only the food items he'd managed to snag from the cafeteria earlier that night and a few personal belongings. The less he brought, the less he had to carry with him the royal name after all.
Swinging a leg over the stone ledge, he leaned against the arch way as he focused on the vast depth between himself and the cold hard ground. It wouldn't be an easy feat, but he knew from various misadventures that the vines which clung to each crevice of the castle's stone aged walls would support his weight until he reached the bottom. And the midnight's summer breeze which elicited an unwanted sense of nostalgia was light enough to expect minimal difficulty.
Still, he hesitated as he felt a strange force ground him to the ledge where he sat. For a moment, the memories he'd made began to flash before his eyes—Yusei, the maids, even his father were all there, and he fought back against their pull as he swung the other leg over in preparation to make his escape.
I'm sorry, everyone.
Whatever Yusei could have expected at the top of those stairs, seeing Judai awake (and dressed!) and halfway off the window ledge was certainly not one of them. And the look on his face and the travel pack slung over his shoulders seemed to hint at something more significant than a midnight stroll.
"Judai?!" He exclaimed without thinking, far too shaken to realize he had completely neglected to include proper titles.
The male in question froze, still holding onto the sides of the arch as he peered back behind his shoulder. He blinked for a moment, the call of his name shaking the prince from his paralyzed stupor as a surge of panic quickly set in. He didn't need to question the likelihood that if he climbed, Yusei would definitely follow. Fortunately for the prince, he had always been quicker to act than to think.
The prince perched himself on the ledge, swiftly leaning forward in order to grasp the first vine that brushed against his fingertips. It was thin, fragile enough to break with a mere tug, but it failed to factor into his equation he felt the other quickly approaching from behind.
Yusei watched, horrified, as his prince just about leapt from the windowsill with nary a thought to its distance to the ground. "Judai, wait!" He shouted desperately, hurrying to the window and climbing onto the ledge with his heart in his throat.!" As if in slow motion, he watched in dismay as the vine broke apart beneath the other boy's fingers. Without thinking, he lunged forwards, hand outstretched.
"JUDAI!"
Somehow in the midst of a chaotic hurdle toward the earth below them, Yusei managed to grab onto the prince as the pair fell toward their doom. Wind ripped through them, fighting back against the force of gravity as it jerked them toward what would appear to be imminent death if either could find the resistance to open their eyes. Instead, their bodies tangled up in one another's, clutching onto their only hope of survival.
It wasn't long before they met the ground—a sickening crack echoing through their ears as they were immersed within a numbing darkness.