Chapter 7: Royal Wedding

Haschwalth bent over the table on which the marriage contract laid, studying the prepared document and signing his name on one of the indicated lines before handing the pen to Byakuya, who signed without reading.

"Thank you," Haschwalth said quietly, "You cooperation will make things much easier."

"It isn't as though there is any choice," Byakuya said solemnly, "I am just doing what I must, as painlessly as possible. Hopefully, my cooperation will convince you to expedite Tetsuya's release more quickly."

"You know that Tetsuya won't be able to leave for a while," Haschwalth reminded him, "The danger he would be in as soon as word escaped about him being a quincy...No, it is safer for his husband and him to remain here at the palace."

"Are you saying that you think the shinigamis have a way of spying on you here? Or are you saying that you think there are those here who look down on Tetsuya and me, and would leak news of this to the other side to endanger us?"

Haschwalth gave Byakuya a weary look.

"I think you know that in addition to some not appreciating your mixed blood, there are those who no longer trust in the Bach bloodline. For all that they acknowledge we need power to protect our lives, they think that Bach's line is too dangerous, too unpredictable. They prefer laying our hopes on stimulating numbers in our noble clans."

"And given that you were taken by him, held forcibly at his side and made to witness everything that monster thought, sensed and planned, don't you think that maybe they are right and the line should be allowed to die out? After all, even if only one in a hundred years is subject to malformations of that sort, that is once every hundred years the quincies have to fear that another powerful tyrant will be born, is it not?"

"Do you think I would be here if I did feel that way?" Haschwalth asked pointedly, "That I was at his side and, as you say, experienced everything, should put me, of all our people, in the best position to make an informed decision...and my decision is that the shinigamis are too great a danger for us to simply try to regrow our numbers. Kurotsuchi Mayuri may be close to knowing how to invade the shadows, and if he does, we need more power in a shorter time frame to keep our society from being annihilated."

"You know that there is no time for childbearing if that is the case either," Byakuya said in low, angry voice, "What you are not saying is that if I am held here, some of the shinigami leadership may feel sympathy for me and oppose another genocide."

"Byakuya, I know this is hard for you to fathom..."

"No," Byakuya said furiously, "I have no problem understanding you or the actions you are taking. I understand and I respectfully disagree. Unless perhaps you plan to take that right from me as well!"

Haschwalth let out a soft huff of breath, smiling sadly and shaking his head.

"Even though I do have to insist on you undertaking the revival of the Bach bloodline with me, it isn't necessary for you to alter your thinking to suit me. I am not trying to crush your spirits, Byakuya. I appreciate just how strong and how willful you are. Remember, my eyes watched as you defied the fate Ywach prescribed for you at As Nodt's hands. You were slated to die on that battlefield, yet you did not."

"I was not saved by fate," Byakuya said shortly, "but by my king's order."

"Yes," Haschwalth said, moving closer to him and looking deeply into his dark, angry eyes, "Your king saw your value too, didn't he, Byakuya? And even not foreseeing your connection to us, he knew and respected you. He saved you because you and the others were keys in the battle and needed to be there. That much, he knew. And likewise, Ywach knew he had to keep you from being there. That is why he marked you for death and didn't name you a special potential."

Haschwalth sighed softly, looking around the guarded anteroom they stood in

"But all of that aside, what's done is done. You have agreed to bear the necessary heirs and this document seals our marriage. If you wish, we can have a small ceremony."

"That is not necessary," Byakuya said stiffly, "I wouldn't honestly be able to say any vows. I feel nothing for you, nothing at all, and I could not love, honor or cherish you or anything about this forced marriage."

Haschwalth's eyes closed for a moment and the weary look on his face intensified.

"Very well. Then, we will go to the consummation chamber now."

Byakuya's head bowed and he deflated very slightly.

"As you wish."

"Byakuya," the quincy regent said, laying a hand on his arm, "your highness, you don't need to be deferential to me any longer. As soon as the heirs are conceived, I am relieved of responsibility for controlling you. You will have your own quarters and you may choose not to share that space with me. I am your consort and subject to your will."

"As long as it is not my will to leave the shadows and go home."

"Yes, as long as it is not that," Haschwalth agreed.

"Then, let us go and get this over with," Byakuya said tersely, "The sooner you are out of my sight, the better."

Haschwalth's eyes registered a moment of quiet pain, then cleared quickly.

"This way, your highness."

He led Byakuya past the guards at the anteroom's entrance and back into the main meeting chamber, which stood empty. They crossed the room without speaking and exited on the far side, passing another set of guards, whose heads bowed as they passed. They started down the longer corridor that led back to the living areas, Byakuya with his head still bowed and his eyes nearly closed. Haschwalth's head turned to allow him to speak to the piqued prince again, but he caught sight of an odd movement back where the guards stood and turned back suddenly, drawing his sword and flinging it forcefully as one of the guards shoved the other aside and took aim on Byakuya with his bow.

Byakuya turned back just in time to see Haschwalth's sword fly across the distance between them to impale the quincy guard's heart, making the man loose a sound of agony as he dropped to his knees, grabbing at the blade in his chest. Byakuya moved towards the man, ignoring Haschwalth's instant objection, stopping in front of him as the second guard dropped down beside the man, yanking the sword free, then holding him as he collapsed completely.

"Y-you're the d-devil," the dying guard panted, glaring up at Byakuya, "Ywach was a demon. You sh-should have let his bloodline d-die!"

Byakuya knelt in front of the two guards, the blood of the dying man soaking into his robes as he met the guard's eyes sadly.

"I understand," he said softly, "Thank you for trying to give me a merciful death."

The dying quincy's eyes registered surprise, then slowly glazed over as the guard holding him stared down at him wordlessly, tears streaming down his face.

"He was your friend?" Byakuya asked quietly.

"He was my brother," the guard whispered, "Our father was in an elite unit of Ywach's guard that was sacrificed in the Auswhalen while he was in the royal realm. My brother and I weren't powerful enough yet to be of any use in the Auswhalen, so we were spared. It was my brother's idea to become guards. We were growing in strength and wanted to help. I...didn't know he would do something like this. But when our father died, he started holding everything in. Your highness, he wasn't a bad person."

"No," Byakuya said gently, "he was a son who lost his father. I know. I lost my father as well."

He paused, vaguely aware that Haschwalth stood behind him, his weapon back in hand, but for the moment, lowered.

"Take your brother and have the palace attendants prepare him for burial. You should inform your family of what happened. Go on."

The quincy guard looked back at him wordlessly.

"What's wrong?" Byakuya asked, looking into his eyes.

"Shouldn't I be arrested? My brother just tried to kill you!" the young man exclaimed.

"Do you want to kill me as well?" Byakuya asked, still looking steadily into his eyes, "I am a warrior, and I know how a man looks when he wishes to kill someone. You don't have that look in your eyes. You mourn your brother, but you don't agree that I should die. Is that not right?"

"Yes, you are right, your highness," the quincy answered softly, looking down at his brother's face, "I hated Ywach for killing our father, but just because he was evil...it doesn't make you evil. I am looking into your eyes and you don't have the eyes of a wicked man."

"I am a prisoner," Byakuya said, standing and turning away from him, "but fortunately, I am a prisoner given some choices. And I choose to free you. Go."

"Thank you, your highness," the guard answered gratefully, standing and lifting his brother's body into his arms, "Please forgive my brother."

"It is done."

Haschwalth fell in with Byakuya, leaving the guard behind and heading for the royal bedrooms. Byakuya gave the regent a curious look as he stopped them outside Haschwalth's quarters.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya asked, "I thought that..."

"You are covered in blood," Haschwalth answered, "You can shower in here before we go on. I will go and bring your clothing for the consummation."

Byakuya followed him past the guards at the door and inside.

"I am placing a barrier around the room to protect you until I get back," the regent explained, "You have not learned how to use your blut or bow as yet, so you are more vulnerable if there should be another incident."

Byakuya crossed the room and stepped into the bathroom, then began to undress, his fingers trembling slightly as they worked to free his body from the bloodied robes. He let his clothes fall to the floor and moved to the shower, his mind working quickly to relieve him of the emotions brought on by the violence of the conflict.

This is not the first time I've watched someone die and it won't be the last. It only struck harder because I sympathize with the man who tried to kill me. I am not desperate enough to want to die, but I do understand those wanting Ywach's bloodline to end. The quincies were damaged badly by him, and that makes their feelings about this mixed and sometimes violent.

Byakuya let the water warm, then stepped in under the hot spray, letting the slight sting of it carry him further from what had happened. His eyes closed and he didn't watch as the guard's blood that had leaked through to his skin slowly freed itself and slid down to swirl around and go down the drain. His mind wandered and he wasn't sure how long it was before he heard Haschwalth's step in the bathroom and loosed a long sigh.

"Your highness, are you all right?" the regent asked in a respectful tone.

"I am fine," Byakuya said, his voice lifeless.

He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, showing no reaction as Haschwalth dried his body with a warm, thick towel, then wrapped a silken white yukata around him. They left the bathroom together and Haschwalth slipped a warmer robe around him before the two stepped out into the hallway and continued on together to the consummation room.

"Why is there a separate room for the consummation?" Byakuya asked, "Are there often royal couples in which one or both are resistant?"

"Sometimes," Haschwalth acknowledged, "but your noble families are no different, are they? They too, force some young people into marriages they don't want."

"Yes."

"The separate room is to put us on more even ground, so that neither will feel completely at home."

"You are doing this to make me feel more at ease?"

"Of course. I told you, the point of this isn't to hurt you. We only need to make sure that we are strong enough to survive if the shinigamis attack. The heirs we are making give us hope for our future. We are grateful for your sacrifice."

They stopped outside the door to the consummation room and Haschwalth stepped forward to hold the door open for him. Byakuya felt a little chill go through his body as he stepped into the warmly decorated room and waited quietly while Haschwalth closed the door and set a heavy barrier in place. He listened as his consort's slow steps approached and stopped, and Haschwalth gently removed his thicker robe.

"You may leave your yukata on and just opened," the regent instructed him.

Byakuya reached down and loosed the tie at his waist, then sucked in a surprised breath as a blindfold was set over his eyes.

"What are you...?" he began.

He paused and frowned.

"This isn't..."

"It isn't the one your wore before," Haschwalth's hushed voice breathed into his ear, "This is the one I wore...the one I used to enter your mind."

"And you have placed this on me..." Byakuya whispered, reaching out with curious fingertips that trembled softly as they encountered Haschwalth's blindfolded eyes, "Why are you doing this?"

Shock flooded Byakuya's body from end to end as Haschwalth's warm, mouth found his and the regent lowered him very slowly onto his back on the bed.

"I am forced to take something from you," Haschwalth whispered, "so I offer something in return. Take what you will, my prince. Everything that I am belongs to you."

Byakuya flinched at the touch of the other man's hands that caressed his face and hair, moving unhurriedly as Haschwalth offered him a longer, more passionate kiss and stretched out along his side. Wondering at his behavior, Byakuya focused on the blindfold, willing it to reveal the other man's thinking and motives to him.

He really is trying to offer what comfort he can.

He doesn't want to do this to me, but he feels it is the only way.

Byakuya found himself drawn away suddenly, thrown back into the battle in the royal realm, but watching Ywach's fall through Haschwalth's eyes. As the quincy king's body collapsed, for just a moment, it flashed in his mind that night had come. He felt the power of the almighty grip his mind for just a moment and he realized it was probably the last vision he was going to see. One thought rang in his shocked mind, freezing him in place and making him shake all over with consuming terror.

What hope is there for the quincies now? he wondered numbly, a tear leaking from his eye as that final vision began to form.

Haschwalth sucked in a choked breath, unable to fathom what he was seeing as the pale, lovely face of a shinigami noble and taichou resonated powerfully in his mind.

He knew?

He saw it then?

He saw...me?

Byakuya felt Haschwalth's lips as they trailed a line of kisses along the length of his throat and his hands that pushed back the folds of the silk yukata.

He may not have known about me having quincy blood, but he knew I was important, so when the opportunity suddenly presented itself, he brought me here. And although he did want to know about Central 46's plans and motives, he wanted more to know why I was the vision shown to him as Ywach died.

He was telling me the truth...about everything. This man doesn't hate me. He doesn't look down on me. In fact, right now, he feels like he holds the only hope of his people in his arms.

This is why he is touching me with what feels like respect.

He felt Haschwalth pause for a moment as his body relaxed and he began to accept the regent's touches more readily. A little moan escaped him as Haschwalth's warm, wet tongue savored an erect nipple, then he ran a line of kisses from Byakuya's chest, over his soft belly, and following the trail of dark hairs that led to his awakening nether region. Byakuya quivered at the first touch and Haschalth paused and waited silently.

"It's fine," Byakuya said, trying to sound aloof, "Aizen wasn't gentle when he was with me. I am..."

"You are my husband and my prince," Haschwalth said firmly, "I will never disrespect you."

Byakuya's breath caught as Haschwalth's mouth followed up the gentle words with slow, compelling stimulation. And as he tended to Byakuya's nether region, he opened his mind to his husband's, exposing every part of his heart and mind and memory as his fingers invaded and slowly prepared the prince for their joining.

Images danced wildly before Byakuya's covered eyes, playing out the story of Haschwalth's past in vibrant color and full of sound. He witnessed the loss of Haschwalth's parents and placement with his abusive uncle, the long years of torment until he had met the young noble, Bazzard Black. He shivered at Ywach's arrival and the torment of sharing the tyrant king's mind.

There was no way to hide his thoughts. He was trapped and had no choice but to make the moves he did. Then...when Ichigo slew Ywach and I appeared in that last vision, he...

Byakuya tore off the blindfold and pulled away from Haschwalth. He knelt on the bed, still panting from the intimate contact and reeling from what he had seen. Haschwalth sat up slowly and removed his blindfold, setting it aside on the nightstand.

"Are you surprised?" Haschwalth asked, "Byakuya, I have never been anything but a prisoner. Now you see, that you are the key to my freedom. I can protect the quincy people, then I can step away and just live. That...is all I ever really wanted to do."

Byakuya looked back at him through stricken eyes, unable to think of a thing to say. Haschwalth gave him a sad smile and touched his face lightly.

"You will never have that luxury, will you?" he mused, "You are a noble there, royalty here. So much is asked of you that isn't fair."

Byakuya continued to look at him wordlessly.

"When this is done, I would like to walk in the gardens with you, look up at the moon and breathe slowly. There is some peace in the small moments of freedom, isn't there? Even for someone who will never be free?"

"You will never be free either," Byakuya said finally, making Haschwalth pause and gaze intently into his eyes, "You say that you can walk away when this is done, but I think you know that more will be asked of you...not the least of which will come from me. You are the only person here who has any idea of my needs. Not just the obvious ones, but the ones that most people miss."

Haschwalth smiled regretfully and nodded.

"I will be here to provide whatever you need, your highness. You know that."

"I do. But let's finish this. With every moment, my heart feels heavier."

"Of course," Haschwalth agreed, coaxing him down onto his back again and kneeling between his parted thighs.

He entered slowly, pausing when he spotted sign of pain in Byakuya's grey eyes and offering soothing kisses and caresses before continuing. When fully engaged, he stopped again, waiting patiently as he adjusted, then moving experimentally. Byakuya made a soft sigh that sounded like mingled pain and arousal. The next time he moved, Byakuya moved with him, his dark eyes still reflecting a measure of pain, but the sounds that escaped him betraying growing desire. Haschwalth moved his hips faster, bringing a sheen of sweat to their skin and drawing more heated moans from his husband as Byakuya writhed against him, forgetting for a moment that he was a prisoner, that many of his choices were made for him, that some of the most intimate parts of his life had always been scripted for him. There was something about the way Haschwalth touched and held him that didn't feel binding or forced. He knew well he wouldn't have chosen to marry the man on his own, but for some reason, it felt good to know that he was there.

He will be there, providing the stabilizing infusions and assisting with the children's births.

Then...

Haschwalth's invading member suddenly found the center of pleasure inside him and stars seemed to burst Byakuya's stunned eyes. His body was jolted, then surrendered to deep shudders of completion. Haschwalth stiffened and loosed his hot release, panting and moaning mindlessly.

What is this feeling? This connection I feel with him? Does he feel it too?

Byakuya gasped as Haschwalth pulled free of him and sat up, watching in silence as Byakuya sat up facing him and hastily covering himself. Neither spoke for a long awkward moment, then Haschwalth gave Byakuya a weary look.

"We should sleep," he suggested, "The first mating primes the bearer's body and causes the formation of the spirit chamber, then we will have to mate again several times tonight. If you wish, I can leave and come back after you have rested."

"No," Byakuya said quickly, shuddering at the thought of waiting alone in the room, "I want you to stay."

Before Haschwalth could answer, he pulled the regent's body back down and curled his own around, burying his face in a tumble of long blonde hair.

"It wasn't too painful, was it?" Haschwalth asked quietly.

"No," Byakuya whispered back, "It was fine. I am fine."

"Your highness...Byakuya, I am sorry this had to happen."

Byakuya considered his words carefully.

"It's best to let it go," he said softly, burrowing more deeply into Haschwalth's shoulder, "You've made enough apologies. There is nothing to do but move forward."

"It's good you see that now," Haschwalth answered, running his fingers through the silken strands of raven colored hair, "It will make things more comfortable for both of us."