"This is a rather odd request, My Lord."
"I'm aware of that, Your Majesty."
"What do you expect me to do about it? He makes Rin happy… He makes me happy. Nothing brings me greater joy than seeing those two together."
"I understand, Your Majesty, but Len's studies…"
"Len's studies can wait. They're young, My Lord. Let them play."
And so went one of the many conversations between the queen and Lord Gakupo as they watched the princess play with her favorite servant. It had been nearly a month since Len and Rin's meeting in the garden, and now the two adults' days were primarily consumed with keeping watch of the children as they played together.
This particular day had the queen and her advisor sitting together on a wide, wooden bench in the courtyard. The children played in the vast field beyond, careful to never leave the adults' sight.
"Your Majesty, this can't continue. They'll discover their relation before long," Gakupo cautioned.
The queen merely watched the children, paying little heed to Gakupo's counsel. "And if they do, My Lord?"
"Who knows who they'll tell? Children are not optimal secret keepers, Your Majesty. If those two are made aware, then the entire kingdom will be as well before the week is out," he warned.
"Honestly, My Lord," said the queen with a chuckle. "Who will believe them if they claim to be brother and sister?" Her smile then shifted from questioning to loving as she watched Len place a flower crown on Rin's head. "People will assume that they are playing a game."
Gakupo crossed his arms. "Your Majesty, do you not think that their resemblance will serve to convince people?"
"Perhaps a few," the queen said with a shrug, "but not many if the queen and her advisor are assuring them otherwise. Just relax, My Lord. All will be fine." She stood up, and Gakupo followed suit.
A minute or two passed before one of the children finally noticed that the queen and lord were standing. "They're standing." Len's voice clearly showed his disappointment as he presented Rin with this information. Huffing her breath, the princess turned to see if her mother was indeed standing – a sure sign that playtime had ended. Len scrambled to his feet, helped Rin to hers, and set about brushing bits of grass off of the princess's dress. The certainty of his actions alluded to the fact that they had done this many times before. Once Len had cleared Rin's dress to her satisfaction, she reached out her hand to him. Len gave her a perplexed look, but Rin simply pouted, obviously waiting for something. Finally, Len gave up, "I don't get it."
"Kiss it!"
"But, Milady, you said before…"
"I don't care. Kiss it."
Quite opposed to the sureness of his earlier interactions with her, Len's hesitation showed in him all through the act of kissing Rin's hand. He feared that the princess was attempting to trick him, but he was quite pleased when he realized that this was no trick. Remembering how Gakupo had kissed the queen's hand before, he held Rin's hand gently and brought it to his lips for just a moment.
When Len's lips parted from the princess's hand, she retracted it and led her servant back to where the adults stood. Removing the flower crown from her head, she approached her mother and ostentatiously held it out in front of her. "Len made this for me," she boasted before carefully placing it back upon her head.
"I've never seen such a fine accessory," the queen praised before turning to affectionately ruffle Len's hair.
Turning around as if it would stop the queen from seeing, Len began getting his hair back into its proper place. Upon turning back around, Rin and the queen had already set about on their way back into the palace.
"It's time for tea," the queen informed her daughter, "and we're having brioche for snack."
The princess clapped, showing her excitement. "I love brioche!" Looking back at Len, she waved, "Bye-bye, Len," she called and, as per usual, raced ahead of her mother on their way inside before she could see Len waving back.
As soon as the princess and the queen were out of sight, Gakupo led Len into the palace as well, though shortly after entering, they turned down a narrow corridor, splitting paths from the ladies ahead. "You're awfully quiet today," Lord Gakupo commented to the boy as they walked. "Is something troubling you?"
"It's nothing, My Lord," Len answered. "I was just thinking about something."
Gakupo glanced at the boy behind him with a raised eyebrow. "Do you mind telling me what this something is? If it's an issue, I might be of some assistance to you." Doubting that Len would tell him about his thoughts, Gakupo diverted his attention from the boy and looked back ahead.
Much to the lord's surprise, Len complied and told of his thoughts: "I worry about the queen. She treats me strangely and still sometimes gets sad when I'm around. I haven't been slacking in my studies, so what do I do now that makes her so sad?"
Gakupo's mind instantly undertook the task of coming up with a lie to appease Len, but he drew blanks in every route he went down. Len was correct in that he hadn't been putting off his studies – Gakupo blamed all of Len's shortcomings on Rin's constant playtime demands at this point. The boy rarely misbehaved, and when he did, such actions came about through Rin's influence. He found no activities of Len's to assign the queen's sadness to. The quiet stretched on as Gakupo desperately hunted for an answer.
"Do you know the answer or not, My Lord?" Len inquired, growing tired of Gakupo's silence.
"I'm afraid that I do not," the lord replied with a sigh. Looking back at Len, he expected to see the boy at least somewhat satisfied with his admittance of not knowing the answer.
Instead, he saw Len frowning defiantly. "You must know something, otherwise you would not have thought for so long without saying anything."
"I assure you that I know nothing," Gakupo insisted. Len was having none of this, however. He squeezed past the lord only to stop in front of him and prevent him from walking further down the hallway. "What are you doing?"
Len stayed in place as he answered, "I won't move until you truly answer my question." Thinking of himself as rather innovative, the boy smiled proudly and stubbornly crossed his arms. Those arms quickly uncrossed themselves when Gakupo turned and began walking in the opposite direction. Little fingers tugged on the tails of Gakupo's coat, and though he was capable of pulling away from them, he turned back around, looking at Len with an expression of cold expectation. "Please tell me why the queen is always upset," Len begged.
Another sigh from Gakupo preceded a statement which he would immediately regret, "It's to do with your parents." Realizing what he was doing, he wished he could reach out and take the words back. "It matters naught, however. Forget that I mentioned them," he attempted to put an end to Len's curiosity, but he knew that failure was inevitable.
A hopeful smile spread across Len's face. "Are my parents alive?" he asked. He continued with an onslaught of questions before giving Gakupo a chance to even open his mouth "Did you find them? Where? What are they like? Can I meet them?"
"Forget that I mentioned them," Gakupo repeated coldly. He pushed Len aside and continued down the corridor. Tiny hands once again grabbed his coat, but this time, it didn't stop his progress down the hall.
Tears slipped down Len's cheeks, and he pulled harder on the lord's coat. "Please, My Lord. If you know something, then tell me," he pleaded. Silence once again met him, broken only by his gasping breath as he tried to hold back sobs. Dread filling his voice, he finally asked the question he most feared on this topic: "Are they dead?"
Gakupo's conscience at last overpowered his common sense. "You cry as much as your mother," he commented. Glancing back at Len, he saw the boy's hands finally release his coattails. "She is alive," he added, turning around so he could face Len. Len's mood instantly swung back to the other extreme, and his eyes now shone brightly with anticipation. He appeared to be at a loss for words. Gakupo, as well, seemed stunned into silence.
Finally, quietly, as if somebody overhearing could ruin the moment for him, Len requested, "can I meet her?"
"You already have," Gakupo stated. Len's jaw dropped excitedly, and he made to speak, but Gakupo's unsympathetic expression told him that he shouldn't. "I'll tell you more when we reach your room," he informed. Once more he turned and continued down the corridor with Len following behind him. Len's restlessness showed in him as he followed directly behind the lord rather than trailing a few feet behind as he usually did. Gakupo, however, walked as nonchalantly as always, but under the surface brewed a mass of anxiety.
Len's room soon entered their view. At once, Len rushed ahead of Gakupo, unlocked his door, and flung it open. "Hurry up," he whined, waiting in the doorway for the lord to arrive. Once Gakupo neared the door, Len rushed inside the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "You're so slow," he grumbled just loud enough for Gakupo to hear as the lord entered the small and sparsely decorated room.
Gakupo closed the door behind him and carefully locked it. He then sat down in a chair by Len's bed. "I won't adjust the way I do things just to satisfy your childish eagerness," Gakupo said stubbornly as he crossed his arms.
"It doesn't matter now, My Lord," Len said as he leaned forward in expectation. "Tell me about my parents."
"I shall, but first I must implore you to be quiet. I don't want anybody discovering what I'm about to tell you, which means you cannot tell a single person that you are aware of your parentage," Gakupo instructed, leaning forward as well so as not to have to speak too loudly.
"The secret is safe with me," Len mimicked using a key to lock his mouth before pretending to throw the imaginary key over his shoulder.
Len's childish actions brought an amused smile to Gakupo's face. He questioned in himself what brought him to reveal the secret so soon, but found nothing aside from the fact that lying to Len had become too difficult. The boy knew how to tug at people's heartstrings in order to get his way, and Gakupo saw himself as just another victim at this point. "Very well, then. Your mother…" he trailed off, unsure of himself.
"Come on!" Len exclaimed, a look on urgency overtaking his young face.
Exasperated with the fact that he was revealing the secret to Len before the queen did so to Rin, he sighed. "Your mother is the queen," he finally said.
Again, Len's jaw dropped.
"Now remember, you mustn't tell a soul about this," Gakupo reminded him. He stood, arms still crossed. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Rin is my sister…"
"Len, I asked you a question."
Ignoring Gakupo entirely, "Can I tell Rin, My Lord? She'll be so excited."
"No," Gakupo said simply. He irritably pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did you not hear what I just said?"
Len shrugged. "Yes, but Rin is special. I assumed I could tell her."
"You can't tell anybody. Do you understand?"
"I understand, My Lord," Len said with a reluctant nod.
"Good. I'll come back for you when it's time for your history lesson. Farewell," Gakupo said. He walked back to the door. As he unlocked it, he looked back at Len once again, "My apologies that you must keep this a secret, but trust me, it is in everyone's best interest for this information not to be disclosed." He opened the door, stepped out of the room, and closed it behind him. Not knowing how Len would behave in his absence, he considered locking the door again, but in the end, he decided to trust the boy just a little.
It was not even five minutes after Gakupo's departure that Len was out of his room and searching for Rin.
A.N. Another big thanks to everyone who reviews, favs or follows! I love the feedback, and it inspires me to write more.
So the more I research to find inspiration, the more I realize how non-canon this thing is. I wanna apologize for that, but I also want to make you all aware that that's not going to change. I have the story entirely mapped out, and not much matches up with canon, so if this sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, then I suggest you turn back now!
Anyways, as always, thanks for reading. I'm so glad you guys seem to be enjoying this so far. I know I am~
