A/N: I'm not even going to pretend that this story will be short because it will not be. Idk how long, but long enough to warrant a warning pft.

Enjoy~

Morning sunlight mottled by the thick leaves of trees dancing outside his window shone onto his face, crinkled from a restless sleep. A knock upon his stairwell hit his ears and he groaned, shoving himself down into his covers and hiding from the outside world. "Kyle, get up," his mother's voice said sternly.

"No," he muttered, turning around and concealing himself further within his linens. She watched him for a moment, feeling the exhaustion and misery beaming off of her eldest son and taking a deep breath. She bit her lip and walked over to his bed, grabbing the edge of his quilt and revealing his mussed hair, matted and tangled from his tossing sleep. "Noooo," he whined, fighting to get the covers back.

"You have to wake up," she said firmly. He groaned, creaking an eye open and looking up at her disinterestedly.

"Why? Arranging another marriage? Am I getting a harem?"

She scowled, "Not funny, young man. Come on," she tapped his head and walked over towards his cherrywood armoire. He sighed exhaustively, shakily sitting himself up and rubbing his scalp, watching her confusedly as she sifted through his clothes.

"Can I help you?" he asked bitterly.

She shook her head to herself, remembering how the redhead was in his youth. Rebellious to a point, but always buckling when the threat of her anger was on the table. That didn't seem to be the case in this instance, and the part of her that'd kept her up all the night before knew she couldn't exactly blame him. But she was queen first and doting mother second, it was the truth that all of their family held within themselves. "You need to go see Kendra," she replied smoothly, grabbing an outfit with robes the color of sapphire and bringing it over to him, leaning over to set a paper on the table beside him.

"Why?" he narrowed his eyes, scratching at his disastrous hair.

She lied the outfit on his bed and crossed her arms, "Because this is her first full day in a new land and she needs your help."

"Have fucking Token or someone help her. I'm not interested," he said firmly, crossing his arms in a pout. He flinched subtly as her eye twitched, gulping down his fears and staying as strong as he could muster, knowing that he was more than on the losing end.

Sheila let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing her temple and looking at her stubborn son. "Bubbie," she forced herself to say calmly, sitting on the bed next to him. "Would you be so cruel if she were just a guest?"

"If she was just a guest she'd leave," he said dryly. "But apparently I have a whole fucking lifetime to get to know her. Why start so early?"

The queen frowned, "Because you're a better person than that. Imagine how she feels, Kyle. Her home is gone. She's immersed in a culture where she can't understand things as simple as our trading customs. She's a human living in a land of magics that she can never develop...She's probably scared," she added quietly.

Kyle took a deep breath and shifted, hiding the wince of uncomfortableness from his and Stan's activities of the night before. "I'm sure she's fine," he muttered.

She paused, folding her hands on her lap and watching her son tiredly. "Do you remember when we found Ike?" she asked quietly. Kyle cocked his brow and she continued, "You were only five, but I'm sure you do." He shrugged and she gave him a small smile. "Do you remember how the four of us traveled to Canada to work an official adoption for him? And myself and your father were with him for a few days while you were out in their land?"

He shrunk down and twisted his lips, "A little."

She smiled, "Remember how afraid you were? Being with humans and not even knowing the correct way to ask for food? How Stanley had to hold your hand the entire time because you were so frightened?"

"That's different, Ma," he protested. "I was five. Things are different with age."

The queen nodded, "That's right. They're worse." Kyle blinked and she shrugged, "When you were such a little elf, if you did something...foolish or out of custom, the humans laughed it off. You were tiny, you didn't know any better," she shrugged. "She doesn't have that excuse. And with the future as it is with her being a queen, she can't afford those kinds of mistakes," she winced. "Anything she does that is negative will be used against her. You were scared just to visit, Kyle. She's scared for her life."

The prince looked down guiltily, "I still don't like this, Mom."

"I know, Bubbie, I know," she said sympathetically, maternally combing her fingers through his hair. "But...even though this all seems against you, maybe it can be better than you believe." He looked up at her wryly and she shrugged. "Maybe you can get a good friend out of this if anything. I've spoken to that...Craig boy that guards her," she shuddered and Kyle snorted softly. Craig was the definition of his mother's greatest fears for her children, always thanking every star that her boys hadn't grown into disrespectful assholes like the rogue. At least, not to the point they showed that side outside of the palace walls. "She apparently has the same attitude that you do," she looked at him in an unamused tone.

"Sure you want another of that in the family?" he challenged.

She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I love you despite your flaws," she teased. "Learn to do the same for her," she advised. Kyle sighed and she patted his shoulder. "She's in the library," she said quietly, getting to her feet. "I'll have someone bring you your breakfast in there."

Kyle watched after her, biting his lip. "Ma?" he called as she placed her hand on the stair railing. She looked back curiously and he gulped. "Ma, what if we don't get along?"

She smirked knowingly. "Considering how she commented on how you blush for her, I doubt that'll be an issue, Kyle."

His words caught and he blinked rapidly, looking to see the note from the day before now set on his bedside table. "Stop going through my things!" he shouted embarrassedly.

The woman chuckled, "That's what mothers do," she said lovingly before descending down the way. The prince twisted his lips and sighed, eyes hitting the note and gulping. He slowly made way out of his bed, waiting for the door to close before beginning to strip out of his loose nightwear, putting on the outfit his mother had picked with a grimace. Eighteen and still being dictated on what to wear. He shook his head as he struggled to work his pants up his hips, looking at his ceiling as he did so. Kendra may have been scared, but he certainly wasn't feeling much better regarding the whole arrangement.

He sighed, letting his eyes slip closed. Day one. Here we go.

The young prince found her sitting at a table, staring confusedly at a book and cocking her head. Her blue eyes squinted, a hand coming up to flail in frustration. He hitched his brow, looking back behind him at a sleepy Stan and smiling softly. "You can go get breakfast, Stan."

"I'm fine," he yawned.

He rolled his eyes. "Bullshit. Go get some food. We'll be fine, Craig's here," he jerked his head to the rogue sitting in boredom across the room with Butters rambling beside him.

"Kyle, I-" he stopped as the prince crossed his arms, flinching automatically as the clear influence of his mother struck throughout the pose. "Uh, okay," he winced. "I'll grab some and come back."

He snorted and shook his head, patting his ranger's arm and watching him turn to walk off. He took a deep breath and turned his head, gulping as he made his way over to the distracted princess. He cocked his head at the book she was looking through, blinking confusedly. "Princess?" he asked, watching her head shoot up in shock at the intrusion before she relaxed and waved to him. He inwardly sighed in relief. Thank god she wasn't into the fucking formalities. Bowing to each other every day would get old and fast.

He made way and sat beside her, clearing his throat. "You uh...you realize you picked up a book written in Elvish...right?" he winced.

She quickly drew him up a note and slid it towards him. 'No, really? I hadn't noticed.'

He looked up to see her staring at him with a taunting smirk lingering under her sheer eggplant scarf. Kyle scoffed, "Don't be an asshole about it."

'Lead by example.'

Kyle raised his brow before snorting and rolling his eyes. "Why the hell did you get an Elvish book? I doubt you can read it unless you've been hiding shit," he cocked his head. He watched her beginning to write, jumping as someone slid a plate and goblet into his arm. He looked to see a servant bowing to him and smiled, "Thank you." The elf nodded with a grin, turning and heading back out the library. Kyle grabbed a piece of thin, dried bread, snapping off a small bit and nibbling as Kendra continued to scribe.

She finally pushed it over towards him, 'I figured that one in your native language would be a bit more culture teaching? I went on the assumption there'd be like...translations. Obviously you elves did not predict the future and my needs and I am insulted.'

Kyle glanced at her silent laughter, chuckling himself. "You're kind of unprecedented for us," he smirked. "What book did you even grab?" She shrugged and handed it to him, watching him flip to the cover and raise his brow. "Uh. This one won't help you learn our culture...Not the current anyway," he blushed and cleared his throat. "It's about ancient mating rituals of our people. I didn't even know we had this," he said, flipping through and staring blankly.

He looked as a paper pushed against him, 'I'd say I chose right if that's the case.' She wriggled her brows and he blushed deeper, slamming the book closed and shoving it away.

"That's not gonna teach you a damn thing," he said dryly. "English, Elvish, or otherwise."

'Nothing wrong with expanding knowledge in all areas, My Prince.'

He blinked, clearing his throat once more and taking a long sip of his coffee to stall for a few moments as Kendra watched him amusedly with her chin propped in her palm. "While I'm not denying that," he finally started, "That was all long before our people evolved to find our soulmates. It's...garbage at this point," he shrugged. "Forgotten crap about outdated theories of how to find someone."

'I'm almost upset there weren't any pictures if it revolves around mating,' she teased.

He cocked his brow, popping a berry into his mouth. "Aren't you supposed to be like...ladylike?" he said dryly.

The prince leaned back as she wrote, watching her hand moving flowingly over the parchment, the swift, smooth motion she used to re-dip her quill time and again. He shook himself out of the trance as the paper slid towards him. 'Let's be real here, Kyle. If we're stuck together the rest of our lives, may as well not pretend to be someone we're not.'

Kyle looked up at her and she shrugged. He smirked a bit and nodded. "Yeah. Makes sense. May as well warn you then, you'll never win an argument with me," he said casually, chewing on another berry.

'Ah, the Jersian flows strong then, I assume?'

He twisted his lips and glared at her slightly as she tried not to burst out laughing. "While that's not wrong, I can only assume that fat bastard told you how evil my mother is, right?" She nodded, but waved off the notion.

'I know she's not evil. Fat-tits just doesn't like anyone who doesn't bow to his every whim.'

"Isn't that the truth," he scoffed. "When I first met him when we were like, four or some shit, he kicked me in the leg to make me kneel for him," he rolled his eyes.

She thought for a moment before smiling and handing him her response. 'I have to say, it's kind of refreshing to see royalty that can open doors for themselves.'

Kyle glanced at her watching him with that smile and shrugged awkwardly. "We elves don't particularly like to be coddled. Or at least...I don't," he winced. "I have enough issues with being brought food and whatnot," he waved towards his prepared plate.

'Then why have servants?'

"Honestly? Necessity," he shrugged. "Not for us, but for them." She cocked her head and he shifted a bit in his seat. "So you probably saw some of the kingdom riding through, right?" She nodded slowly. "You can tell we're not quite as...glamorous as Kupa Keep," he rolled his eyes. "Well, with a lack of glamor comes a lack of work. So we employ civilians, but, they're happy to do so," he shrugged. "We pay them well, we treat them like people. The only ones who 'quit' do so unwillingly out of sickness or age," he said softly. "It's the same with our guards. We each have one personal guard to protect the family individually, but all the ones you saw when we met are for the people, not us."

Kendra blinked a few times, slowly writing out her reply as Kyle sipped at his coffee, smacking his lips in thought. A part of him couldn't help but wonder if he was always so talkative and just never noticed until paired with someone who couldn't speak back. He felt like he was on a goddamn speech rampage as he so often fell into. He tried not to cringe in embarrassment as she continued writing, the soft scribbles filling the void air. 'I wish Kupa Keep had been so kind. The servants there are treated so horribly, and I had so little say in it that nothing could be done.'

They met stares, Kyle noticing a helplessness lingering in her eyes and watching her concernedly. "Well, now you know we're not all like Fatass," he said quietly. "Regardless of where you stand royally, you always have a say. My little brother is only twelve and even he has the ability to make executive decisions. We decide things as a family...Usually," he murmured as an afterthought.

'The exception is the two of us, right?'

He nodded and coughed lightly. "Did...did you know this was happening before you came?" She nodded.

'Did you not?'

"I learned about ten minutes before I met you," he shrugged.

She winced guiltily. 'I'm so sorry. I at least had two weeks to get used to the idea. You handled it pretty well for shock news.'

He smiled bashfully, "You don't know the half of it...But that's really not important anymore," he sighed. He flickered his eyes back into hers and hitched his brow. "So...you're not blood related to that fat fuck?" She shook her head. "Then how did you come into any sort of power?" She rubbed the back of her neck, looking down embarrassedly and he snapped himself into a guilted alert. "Hey, hey, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to," he assured her. "Sorry. I didn't know it was a sensitive subject."

She hesitated for a moment before drafting her reply, 'Maybe one day I'll tell you. It's not that I don't trust you. I just don't like to talk about it.'

"I understand," he said. "Sorry," he repeated with a wince. She smiled at him and shook her head, patting his arm lightly. She paused, looking past him and quirking her brow before scribbling another note.

'Any reason why your ranger keeps glaring at me?'

Kyle blinked, whipping around and seeing Stan watching them from a distance, the noirette snapping out of his anger as his prince's eyes hit his own. Kyle glared back, waving him away and Stan took a deep breath, nodding and heading to sit with Craig and Butters. He turned back to see Kendra blinking at him in confusion. "Stan is...my best friend," he said slowly. "He's extremely protective of me. He always has been. It's nothing against you personally," he promised. "He's just skeptical of anyone who he doesn't know being close to me."

She smirked sadly, 'I'm thinking he probably needs to get used to me.'

He shrugged, "He will. It'll take time, but he will."

'It must be nice having someone so close to you. The closest I have is Paladin Butters, and he annoys the ever loving shit out of me. Ever wanted to bash someone's head against the wall? Because with him, I guarantee you'll get to that point.' she looked at him dryly.

Kyle snorted and nodded, "He does seem to be a bit much."

'This time you don't know the half of it, My dear prince,' she teased.

He smiled sheepishly, taking another bite of his breakfast. He grabbed a strawberry, plump and gleaming as red as a sailor's night and held it towards her. "Want one?"

She hesitated for a moment, glancing between the fruit and Kyle's innocent expression. Shakily, she grasped the fruit and nodded in thanks. She slid it under her scarf and took a bite, relishing in the sweet explosion of flavor dancing along her palate. A happy, content sigh escaped her lips as she brought her hand down and chewed, Kyle watching her with a tilted head. She looked towards him, returning the expression and he cleared his throat. "Can I ask a...maybe kind of...personal...question?" he winced.

She quickly slid him a note, her hand kept on the bottom of the page. 'I will not tell you my breast size, Your Highness.'

She watched giddily as Kyle's face erupted as red as his strawberries, mouth fumbling as he struggled for response. "I wasn't going to ask you that!" he squeaked, wanting to sink into the floor and bury himself in the dirt.

Kendra smiled, taking her hand off the bottom and revealing another tiny note. 'I'm only teasing. Of course you can.'

He sputtered a bit before scoffing and crossing his arms, glaring away from her. "Not funny," he muttered as she shook in laughter. He rolled his eyes and looked back as she tried to compose herself. "So...why the scarf?" he asked softly. She hitched her brow and he shrugged. "I'm just curious why you wear it, that's all."

The princess paused, looking at her paper in thought. She knew exactly why. It was to hide the angular, broad shape of her chin. To cover stubborn stubble that had began sprouting at the tender age of fifteen. A slim, lanky figure and fake breasts could only do so much, some assets just had to be kept secretly hidden. He glanced to see Kyle waiting patiently and let her quill take a mind of its own, knowing that dwelling on reasons could spell disaster.

Kyle looked down as the parchment was placed in front of him. 'Why showcase something that's not of use? I'm not the Fatass, I don't wear every useless thing I own on my sleeve as a bragging right. People tend to stare at my mouth when they want an answer and I can't give them that, so the scarf makes them remember. Besides, I'm a better listener anyway and would rather they focus on that.'

Kyle blinked slowly, raising his eyes to meet the princess' worried stare and offering her a smile. "Well, that works out nicely. I'm shit at listening and tend to just rant and yell at people," he chuckled.

She smiled back in relief, 'So, we have some balance. That's always a good thing for a kingdom.'

He nodded in agreement, pushing his plate of food between the both of them and gesturing for her to partake with him. "And for people just in general," he added. "I'm sure we can find some kind of system down the way," he shrugged.

She smiled, popping another strawberry under her scarf and handing him another paper, happily watching the smile spread warmly on his face. 'We'll make it work.'

A/N: Fucking adorable dorks will be the death of me I swear. There's gonna be a LOT of this kind of stuff with them getting to know each other. So if you don't like it. Erm. Sorry? But not really?

Also so coffee came to be in the 17th century but this shit doesn't have a particular time so we're just gonna kinda ease it on in there as 'well it's a possibility'. Okay? Okay.

Thanks for R&Ring!