"Do you?" asked the prince.

Deku chuckled nervously, bowed twice because he wasn't sure if the first bow was deep enough, then scratched his nose. "Do I what?"

"Ride horses." The prince nodded at Deku's riding gear—the prince's riding gear.

"Oh! I've never tried. I'm terribly sorry; Lady Yaoyorozu invited everyone for a dinner in your home, and these were the only clothes I could find, and you're probably really insulted—"

"Not at all," the prince said, in his calm and calming voice. "Except that you're in riding gear when you don't know how to ride a horse."

Deku's lip trembled and he was about to bow and apologize again, but he stopped himself. The prince seemed a kind, lonely boy no older than him, and he had always wanted to ride a horse. "My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I am willing to learn from Your Highness."

"Good. And call me Shoto."

Shoto Todoroki was the youngest of the four royal children, but he would inherit the kingdom. His three older siblings, who also didn't have many if any public appearances, had disgraced themselves one way or another, so the fourth would inherit it all. Deku sometimes wondered if they were jealous.

Shoto led Deku through the iridescent-tiled corridors. Servants and guests alike bowed when they passed by. Deku wanted to wave his hands and ask them to stand up – the attention and admiration didn't suit him – but they were obviously bowing to their prince. To them, Deku was invisible—at most, the prince's latest amusing guest.

The palace grasslands were kept at a tolerable climate like the rest of the castle. Controlled winds created the illusion of a natural breeze, but Deku could see a clever machine manipulated by a tall boy around the same age as him and the prince.

"The stables are this way," Shoto said.

Deku nodded. "Yes! I just got excited seeing how the High Court controls their climate."

Shoto blinked. Actually, his turquoise eye stayed open, so it was more of a wink. "Doesn't the whole kingdom? Otherwise, you'd freeze."

Deku struggled to help the highborn boy understand. In his village, natural hot springs in the woods provided all the heat the villagers would receive; firewood and blankets did the rest. Towns had a series of vents that puffed out burning coal and other fuels but could be prone to explosions, especially by troublemakers. The Low and Middle Courts had a much more complex system, though it turned their air brown and heavy. But the High Court had fresh air like the villages, along with a sharp breeze that didn't bite, and pink and yellow flowers at their feet.

"These are my father's stables," Shoto said. A young man who looked only a year or two older than them tended to a black stallion with raven wings. "My brother likes horses, so they're maintained by the most professional of breeders."

Was the cloaked boy a prince or a breeder? His slim hands suggested high bearing, but he was also barefoot. Deku panicked at court etiquette; he couldn't imagine living in the Courts and having to navigate this everyday.

"Hello, Tamaki," Shoto said.

Deku tried to remember the names of the Chusei royalty. Inko had recounted the tales of the princes and princess, but Ida and Uraraka were better than Deku at remembering facts and stories. I think one was named after summer and the other after winter. But there was also a fourth...

"Well met, Your Highness."

Deku exhaled softly. So he isn't royalty. He tried to strike up conversation. "What is it like taking care of such a variety of horses?"

There was the handsome pegasus that Tamaki favoured, but also paler pegasi, more slender breeds, some unicorns with gold or white pelts, one with a tri-coloured horn. And one had a broad beak instead of a snout. With green patches on her white pelt, she reminded him of Akeru, Inko's songbird who had sung a tune of rebellion that had gotten the townspeople captured.

But I can't really blame Akeru. Deku reached out to pet the beaked horse, who almost bit his hand off.

"I wouldn't know," Tamaki replied. "I'm not the breeder. I manage the imports and exports."

"Mostly exports," Shoto added as he unclipped two saddles. "Some foreign buyer decides he likes a horse, then it disappears and we never hear about it again." He asked Tamaki, "Which one's next?"

Tamaki patted the black pegasus. "I like this one. It has a lot of meat."

Deku startled. "Meat?"

Shoto saddled up a white unicorn with a silver mane and an iridescent horn, then gestured for Deku to choose a horse. "Is that surprising to you?"

Deku stared up at a golden-pelted unicorn, whose horn shone copper, ruby, and emerald. "These creatures are too majestic to be thought of as meat. What's this one's name?"

"Two-Three Horny," Tamaki said at the same time as Shoto said, "Ruby Cuperni."

Deku and Shoto looked at Tamaki, who gave them a crooked, charming smile. "I just made that up. His Highness speaks the truth."

Deku wanted to laugh, but Shoto wasn't laughing. The prince swung onto his steed and snapped the reins. "Onward, Silver Lancea."

Deku fumbled with the saddle until Tamaki helped. He looked at the older boy in surprise. The slim man shrugged and didn't meet his gaze. "I like riding them, too."

Deku copied Shoto's motion of getting on, wincing at the unfamiliar posture, then followed the prince into the grasslands. He paid careful attention to each slight movement that the more experienced rider made: a slight digging of heels into the horse's flanks to urge it to gallop faster; a deft flick of a wrist to make a sharp turn without wasting energy; leaning forward to keep balance or add momentum, or maybe just to enjoy the artificial breeze. Then Shoto leaned back to slow Silver Lancea, and Deku followed suit with Ruby Cuperni. They stopped at a white-watered river, and Shoto got off and lay down on the grass.

Deku didn't want to ruin the borrowed clothes with grass stains, but Shoto gestured for him to lie down, too. The horses' hooves were perilously close to their heads, but the prince didn't seem concerned. Deku wished he could enjoy this moment more—spending time with another boy who wasn't Ida—but he couldn't ignore the prince's sorrow.

He turned and looked at the other boy. He was on Shoto's left side, so he had a close view of the scar. It had seemed like a burn from fire at first, but on closer examination, it was an ice burn; Inko got one many years ago when she spilled hot water on herself and used cold water to try and treat it. Deku stared at the uneven red skin and waited for the prince to say something.

"You know, Midoriya," he finally said, his voice almost softer than the lull of the river, "in all the High Court, there is no one I love."