Prince Yao Jinhai, Mongolian Empire

[by sevenzeroseven]

-x-x-x-

A few hours before his date.

Bzz. Bzzz.

Jinhai grappled for his phone hidden somewhere under his mountain of sheets and comforters, frowning when he realized there was an unnecessary amount of covers on the bed, and found it wedged between the pillows. Glancing at his watch for the time, he swiped answer and moved the phone beside his ear.

"Morning, Lihau," he said into the phone. It was around noon here in Illéa, but near six in the morning in Mongolia, meaning she'd woken up especially early to call him. They'd been exchanging texts over the past couple of days, but hadn't called until now. He didn't really get homesick, but he did miss his sister.

His sister's impish voice responded instantly, albeit under the guise of elegance, "And good afternoon to you! But, my dear brother, have you already been westernized after only staying there for a few days?" She noted his language of choice when answering the phone.

He blinked, realizing he had been talking in English by accident. His sister's English was far smoother than his and far more natural sounding, since she had a knack for languages. He switched into his native language, "Time difference or not, you could have simply sent me an email had you wanted to talk."

She tutted over the phone and ignored his remark. "No, no, stay in English. You need the practice with your accent as thick as it is," she paused thoughtfully before continuing, "Well, I suppose the accent isn't too bad. Some women like them and maybe that's the crown princess' taste as well."

Jinhai chose to ignore the comment regarding his broken English and carefully looked through his luggage instead. "I believe she finds it more aggravating than anything else. She looks particularly frustrated when speaking with someone who can't- isn't," he corrected himself, "-fluent."

"Hm, that's to be expected. Nonetheless, it's nice to hear your voice again. You've been talking with her, right?" she asked, curious. There was faint crackling on the line.

"Only a little over the past few days," Jinhai answered, stretching a little. "I think she is trying not to pay much attention to me."

"You're a political warhead waiting to explode, little brother. Any person with common sense would avoid you," she laughed and he smiled a little in spite of himself. "Illéan sources are rather biased when looking at it. How distasteful for them to report on her while she was in that state during the Ball."

"She was nervous at the Ball, I think. She just kept downing those Champagnes like they were waters," Jinhai recalled, chuckling a little. " I wanted to talk with her more, but her guard dog was watching me and the others like a hawk."

"Guard dog?" Lihau repeated unsurely.

"Her Bodyguard. I didn't catch his name. He was watching her the entire evening very carefully, he even helped her during the khadag greeting." Jinhai frowned, remembering it. "When I had the chance to talk to the New Asian prince, he just appeared beside us like a shadow. We switched into Russian, though I'm not sure if that mattered." He continued before his sister could make assumptions. "Well, he has good intentions, I'm sure."

"Speaking of the New Asian prince, you said you've talked to him. Haruhito, was it?" Lihau asked curiously. "You never specified how that went."

Jinhai ran a hand through his hair, picking up one of the newspapers the other suitors had shown in the parlor that was currently splayed across his desk. Him and Haruhito were plastered on the front, heading inside. "Mm. I find him quite amicable. We didn't talk about anything of importance." He squinted at a different newspaper, that showed the front of Haruhito's sweater. He remembered the caption. How cute.

"Amicable?"

"Is that not the right word? Charming, then?" he frowned, a little confused on why she repeated his choice of words. Jinhai could hear his sister flipping through pages on the other end of the line and then scribbling something down.

"No, that's right, I suppose," she laughed politely. "Only you could be friends with our enemy, little brother. Have you spoken with the Russian representative then… Tsarevich Nikolai?"

"I've spoken no more than two words to him. He and Prince Jericho are always together instead," he laughed a little to himself. He'd been paying more attention to the two ever since Haruhito talked to him and they seemed to truly get along well with each other, although, the result of his occasional staring has gotten him some questioning glances from the duo themselves.

"Ah, well, he'd probably find your Russian pathetic anyways," she laughed mischievously. He repressed the urge to roll his eyes at her teasing. He'd only talked a little to everybody since the only one he knew well was Prince Quinlan. "What are you doing now?"

"Preparing for my date with Princess Eliza," he answered absentmindedly, trying to decide between wearing long sleeves or not.

"Excuse me, did you just say date?" Lihau repeated.

"Ah, yes. My first one is in a few hours," Jinhai looked at the clothes he had packed. He could tell Eliza liked casual and that was relieving to him. "I was thinking coffee."

"You're courting the next queen of Illéa and you plan to simply talk over coffee? How do you plan to make an impression with just that?" his sister complained. The sounds of paper ripping were heard and he sighed. Not the best idea to tell her that, he thought.

Despite his initial confidence in a simple coffee date, he pouted a little at being shot down. "How about baking?"

"Ooh, yes. Your macarons are the most delicious things I've ever tasted," she said in a brief moment of praise. "And it'll drop your 'quiet and mysterious' aura."

"'Quiet and mysterious?'"

"Be cute and playful or as cute and playful as you can when you have dyed hair, piercings, and tattoos. Women like that," she advised and then referred to his shrewd eyes. "And they also like when you remember the details about them, so make sure you're using your eagle eyes properly."

Jinhai laughed, "I know how to go on a date. I will not be lurking in the corner watching her bake. It'll be fun, hopefully."

"Are you nervous?"

Jinhai sighed and thought about that question for a moment. His stomach was twisting into knots, so yes. It had been a while since he'd gone on a date. "A little."

He could feel Lihau smiling through the phone. "Don't worry, all the girls at the palace say you're charming when you're not brooding. You'll do fine."

"How reassuring," he grinned and checked the time again.

Almost as if she had read his mind, she spoke, "Mother and father want me to have an early breakfast with them before we head into today's meetings. I'm afraid I have to go."

"Alright. I'll send over last night's paperwork soon," he said, a little saddened their talk ended so soon.

"I'll text you later," she said breezily and a little businesslike. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Click.

While his talk with his sister made him feel much better, he was almost surprised she wasn't pressuring him more about this. It weighed heavy on the political scales-

Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.

LiLi: I almost forgot. Don't try to be too funny. You're not a funny guy.

LiLi: And remember. The whole world is watching you. Don't mess it up.

LiLi: Good luck! *Heart Emoji*

Ah, there it was.


Thanks to sevenzeroseven for this insider on Jinhai getting ready for his first date! :D Isn't he the softest of the softest?

All credits and Reviews go to sevenzeroseven!