Izumi expected little from this impromptu visit.
He didn't know much about the Terraemotus council, but from the little he learned - mostly eavesdropping on Ryouma and Rei's scornful comments - he didn't hold the council in high esteem. Frankly, he thought it best to avoid them. Terraemotus' ruling customs seemed a bit less unilateral with most if not all the royalty's governance being reviewed by the council; Izumi never doubted that he would have little to no reason to converse with noble-politicians here.
After accepting the audience, Izumi sat silently as his plates were cleared squarely by the kitchen staff. Ryouma had demanded that the chief member hold their audience at that same table, which felt like an act of deviance to Izumi. They only used this table for their private meal times. It seemed quite rude to not even meet with the council member in the throne room or in the gardens..
The fragile elder had to walk his way throughout the castle to their breakfast nook; it was an obvious symptom of Ryouma's dislike the of the council. Izumi had always been taught to keep his negative feelings to himself and behave with poise in Luxsolis. Maybe Terraemotus is different or maybe Ryouma doesn't care if he offends. Either way, the Sena prince was uncomfortable, yet Izumi didn't mention anything.
When the council member entered, he was alone for the first time in front of Izumi, and strangely, he was not announced. The old man was usually followed by another council member or two and several guards and servants. Further still, the noble's only company was Rei, who waved the guards posted inside the room and on the balcony away. The women and men in uniform discreetly filed out and closed the massive doors to the hall behind them. He cautiously approached the stone table, at the end opposite Ryouma, who was eyeing the slender man relentlessly.
Izumi looked over at his fiancé, who was as still and cold he felt that day they had met. His blue bangs draped across his forehead, and Izumi wanted nothing else but to reach out and brush his bangs out of his face, to warm up his sullen and cool expression. But instead he kept his hand clenched under the table, out of sight and away from the prince.
He looked away from Ryouma and set his bright gaze on their visitor. When Ryouma did not yet greet the council member, he bowed deeply for one his age in front of both princes.
"Oh, Your Highness... and Your Highness."
When Ryouma did not respond, Izumi cleared his throat and nodded to the councilman.
"Good morning, Councilman," he said a bit louder than he expected. The councilman bowed his head graciously toward the blonde prince.
"Your arrival celebration starts tonight. Your official presentation to our country and to the world will be a grand affair. We in the council have already begun our preparations, and invitations have been sent since your arrival. We are certain that you will be welcomed and regarded in the highest respects," the old man said, gesturing widely, causing Ryouma to scoff.
It was obvious that the raven's patience was growing thin with the idle talk.
"It is critical that you present yourself in a pleasing manner, Your Highness," Rei then spoke up, approaching the table next to the councilman. With his back straight, Rei stood quite taller than the hunched-back elder. Side-by-side, they were a mismatched pair, and Izumi could sense that they were up to something as reluctant associates.
"I fear that our creditors have started to ask about their interests in Terraemotus. The council had just concluded a clandestine meet with some ambassadorial debt-collectors visiting for the celebration. We have been placating them with sweet words for the past few years, but our lease on empty promises is about to expire. We requested this audience with you two to inform you of this.. and begin our method of fixing it."
"Why the sudden and aggressive inquiry in their debts? The crown has been borrowing for years," Izumi blurted out, and quickly his cheeks reddened when he noticed that Ryouma's face darkened.
"Not the crown," the raven stated firmly and glared at the councilman.
He then turned his gaze to Sagara Rei with a knowing expression.
"We need to assure them of this s-stable union," the old man said weakly, "and our new pact with Luxsolis is solidified."
"How do we go about this assurance?" Izumi asked.
Silence befell the room after that innocent question.
Sagara Rei adjusted the bifocals on the bridge of his nose. The councilman shuffled his feet a bit and looked white-faced. Confused, Izumi looked over to his fiancé, who was staring at him already.
Stoically, Ryouma extended across the 3 feet between them and offered his hand to Izumi, who, despite himself, accepted. He placed his shaking hand into the larger and cold palm of the raven. Ryouma then leaned into his hand and kissed the back of the blonde's. Izumi could feel the blood pool in his cheeks as Ryouma pressed his lips against his warm skin. When he pulled back, Izumi yanked his hand back and stuffed it between his legs, furiously applying pressure to warm his skin again.
"It seems like you'll need to decide if we'll be husband and husband a lot sooner than we expected," Ryouma the said, and Izumi stared down at his lap for the rest of the conversation
The next morning, Izumi's chair was placed closer to the raven's huge ornate seat.
Usually they sat about several feet away from each other to accommodate the decorations and platters of food on the table. Also, Ryouma liked to prop his feet on top of a stool under the table, recline back, and read and write a few reports. The raven required a lot of space during meal times. However, today the stool was gone, the papers, quills, and books nowhere to be seen, and Izumi's customized chair at the corner of the stone table, a few inches away from the King's chair.
When he entered, Ryouma stood up and sat down befoe Izumi did.
"I'm assigning Rei to tutor you in our Terraemotus culture," was the first thing the raven said to Izumi.
After a beat, Ryouma then blushed.
"Oh, pardon me. Good morning, my prince."
At hearing 'my prince,' Izumi was silent.
He then muttered a greeting in return. They hadn't called each other anything other than the usual honorifics or even rarer, their given names. He picked up his fork awkwardly and began poking at the poached ducks eggs on a maize bread with a heavy-handed drizzle of gravy. Ryouma began to eat his meal as well, not knowing what to do with his hands since Rei told him to refrain from work during meals.
If their union's reputation were to have any weight, they would have to start behaving like a couple. Ryouma nor the council and Rei could persuade Izumi's decision so in the meantime, they devised to pretend that things were progressing normally towards matrimony. Izumi assumed the plan and let them busy themselves with their schemes. He was still not certain of this path set out before him. If not for the consequences for Luxsolis, he would have never boarded his ship to this rocky nation.
Even if that meant even seeing Ryouma again, he thought.
A few minute of relative silence passed, save the clacking of forks against plates or the shuffles of servant in and out the room delivering and retrieving food, drink, and dishes, before Izumi spoke.
"How is a foreigner a qualified tutor in your culture?"
"He has lived in this nation longer than I have been alive. He has taught me almost everything I know."
Izumi was silent again. He held his goblet of sweet wine to his chest after swallowing a few gulps. The wine did not burn going down as alcohol usually does for the prince back at home. Did these people add sugar to their wine?
"Where are your documents and journals?" Izumi asked, and Ryouma chuckled dryly.
"When I'm with you, I'm with you. No more work during our time."
Izumi tried to swallow more wine after hearing that, but couldn't bring himself to hold the cup steady to his lips. He placed it back down on the table gingerly, and then listened as Ryouma talked about his sprained finger from archery practice and the annoyingly convoluted history of Terraemotus buffalo skinning he has been learning.
Sena Izumi spent more of his breaking fast wondering what the next meal will be like with his fiance now that they were having their time.
After he broke his fast with the raven prince, one of his Luxsoli guards, Nao, retrieved him from the hall and escorted him to the gardens just below his chamber balcony. Many of his Luxsoli entourage took refuge here on leisure time, partly due to the proximity to Izumi's chambers.
The castle gardens were a mix of actual flower beds of species Izumi had never seen before with rows of stone and masonry outlining paths weaving throughout the estate. He passed tall flowers with thin yellow petals and big black centers that always had a swarm of bees buzzing about them and then he saw short flowers with long petals reaching up to the sky, creating a cup in the center from which a thick clear sap dripped out and over the sides.
Nao dripped his finger into the sap and popped his finger into his mouth with a mischievous glint in his eye. Izumi laughed at the taller man and repeated his actions hesitantly but moaned at the taste of sweet and sour sap on his tongue. He stuck his finger in a second time before following Nao into an open field where Sagara Rei was waiting next to a wooden table with massive books atop it and a tall stool with ladder-like legs.
"The insipid council member is right, you know," Rei stated from across the field.
Nao bowed his head and retreated to the far end of the field; he stood vigil, watching their surroundings and his fellow Luxsoli intently. Izumi approached the table and stool, running his fingers over the tomes written in a language he did not understand.
"What are these?"
"Books on the Etruscan alphabet and language. We will begin our lessons for the next week with these."
Izumi groaned. The blonde prince loved languages and was quite fluent in three. However, he had heard his fair share of Etrusci, the nation language of Terraemotus. The blonde was not a fan of picking up this excessively conjugated language and being a stumbling novice once again.
He climbed into this seat with slumped shoulders.
"I don't see how this is necessary. Most of my interactions have been in the common language."
"This arrival ceremony is very important in establishing you as a new player in the game. Although most Terraemotus speak the common language, the nobility speak Etrusci. You must learn as much as you can until then," Rei said, grabbing the top book and placing it in front of the prince with the pages open to the first chapter.
"Show me what you have come to show me," Izumi said, determined.
Sena Izumi practiced the basic Etrusci alphabet and greetings for about an hour or so before Rei and he transitioned to quainter noble customs and royal traditions.
Sena Izumi was always the shy and withdrawn prince of the Sena family; Luxsolis was a very friendly and loving culture. His mother and brother's forwardness throughout Ryouma's visit was closer to the norm than Izumi's coy nature. Shougo was always more Luxsoli than Izumi ever felt, but now entering Ryouma's world, the blonde could not appreciate how he was part of his family. Despite always feeling like an outsider in his own country, Izumi was just as Luxsoli as the rest. Maybe he just expressed it differently.. or barely.
So when learning the particular minutia of the reserved Terraemotus ways, Izumi was quick to excel in the performance that was dealing with the noble class. He was reserved as they would expect of nobility. Izumi also noted that Terraemotus nobility also were less traveled than other nobles he has met. They would be less tolerable of diversity, it would seem.
By the time for their final meal of the day, Rei was exhausted with the many topics they covered. He rested against the long-forgotten tome with a glass of tart buffalo milk in hand while Izumi practiced again his routine in dancing with a noblewoman seamlessly, swirling around with his hands in the air. He didn't require a partner to show him the steps to the Terraemotus waltz.
"You have much to learn about Terraemotus, but I think you'll be a great King.. and husband."
Rei coughed into his fist, continued speaking, and Izumi stopped his movement to look over at the older man.
"I know that this situation is very difficult for you.. Traveling against the world to the place about which you know nothing to marry someone you barely know for a cause in which you had no part."
"..."
"I'm going to request to Ryouma and your parents that the wedding take place soon after your arrival celebrations," Rei then explained, "Although I understand that they have little to do with that decision."
Quite shrewd, Izumi thought of Sagara Rei.
"The decision is mine and mine alone. That is our custom," Izumi stated, and Nao stepped forward and nodded to the prince, alerting him that the time for supper was at hand.
Izumi had to return to his chambers, bath, and change for the meal with some guests from other Terraemotus houses and his fiancé.
"Of course, Your Highness. I'm sure you understand why the council and I are worried then. I'm sure others are aware of this peculiarity in Luxsoli tradition."
Rei followed Izumi a few feet as the blonde made his way back to the castle. The setting sun at their backs as they approached the great grey keep, Rei silently observed the young prince who was soon to be Ryouma's life partner. As much as he liked the blonde's subdued tenacity and relentless stubbornness, he feared that he would break Ryouma's heart and jeopardize Terraemotus' hush-hush situation.
The blonde and raven hadn't spent much time together and the affection between them left a lot to be desired. He was aware of the effect that Izumi's home sickness and Ryouma's narrow-minded pursuit of kingship had on their relationship and could only hope that they would connect deeply soon. Their engagement was not solid; Luxsoli law dictates that the prince had in his every right to reject the proposal and annul it whenever he saw fit until they wed.
Izumi has given no indication that he would stay, and from the looks of Ryouma's sudden lack of charm, Rei was not convinced the blonde would stay at all.
"I'm sure they are as well. Sagara Rei, don't worry," Izumi said, stopping in front of the adviser and smiling up at him, "You will have your answer soon."
