A/N: Some nice K2 for us all because it's necessary. The most necessary of all things most obviously.
Enjoy~
Maybe there was something to be said about the wonder of solitude that so few others around him seemed to understand. Kyle took a long, deep breath in the resounding quiet, ears perked for the sounds of Stan and Christophe trailing after him from managing to give them the slip. Listening to Stan constantly instructing the brunette on distance regulations and Kyle's different tendencies was just wearing on his last nerve. It'd been a week of the constant lessons, Stan seeming to pull a different one out of the air every few minutes. So far, all seemed to be going fairly well, however. Stan trusted Christophe enough to let him walk beside himself as opposed to behind so he could act as Kyle's shield. The Frenchman seemed to be adapting to life as a royal guard, though the prince could definitely pick up some frustration in his murky gaze. He chuckled to himself, knowing full and well that it was more likely than not spawning from his ranger constantly snapping at him for edging too closely to Kyle for his liking.
"Sup," a voice poked through his comforting loneliness. He turned to see Ike leaning against the doorframe, chomping on a ruby apple.
"Can I help you?" he scoffed.
The boy shrugged, smacking his lips. "Dunno, I'm bored." He looked up and down the hall and smirked, "You escape your guard, too?"
"Filmore finally driving you crazy?" he teased as the Canadian walked up beside of him.
Ike rolled his eyes, "Fucking shit, Ky, it's so irritating. Murphy yelled at him for 'not being vigilant enough', so he's like a goddamn parasite."
He laughed, patting his head sympathetically. "Figures, your one guard finally matches the annoyance of Stan and my number increases," he huffed as they continued down the corridor together.
The younger nodded, taking another chomp of his apple. "So, why are you gettin' more protection? Your tiny ass on the line or something?"
He frowned down at him humorlessly. "I don't know, but I can only assume that it's because of Kendra."
He snorted, "What? She gonna strangle ya? Bout damn time, surprised you didn't annoy her to that point sooner," he nudged him teasingly.
"No, you dickweed," he rolled his eyes. "I'm sure there's kingdoms out there that aren't particularly happy about the two of us. They probably think that this increases the threat against me when I take the throne."
Ike nodded a bit, scratching his neck, "Yourself included?"
Kyle cocked his brow, "Whaddya mean?"
"I mean are you unhappy, too?" he questioned quietly. "You seem to be taking this whole thing...well," he winced, waving towards him aimlessly. "When Mom told you what you'd be doing, you almost lost your shit. Now you're just kinda...accepting it," he drawled. "You gonna repress this until your brain explodes or what?"
Kyle blinked, twisting his lips in the slightest and straightening himself up in his dignified posture, Ike rolling his eyes at the show. "I'm not unhappy," he said quietly. "Would I have preferred my own choice and to do things the usual way for the elves? Yes. But...I'm okay with being tied down to her."
He cocked his brow, "Seriously? You remember she's human, right?"
"Uh, are you forgetting what you are?" he reminded him. Ike pouted and Kyle placed his hand on his shoulder. "Ike, this is just what we do," he said softly. "One day you'll have to sacrifice something for your country, and you'll get one of these damn things," he pulled his silver necklace from under his robe, displaying it in the soft lighting of the halls. He stared at the branch and sighed, closing his hand around the charm. "We sacrifice for our people, Ike. It's what being royalty is about."
"Has any other elf had to sacrifice like this?" he asked softly.
He shrugged, "What about our great grandmother? She put her life force into the Stick to balance its powers," he raised his brow. "She was catatonic until she died, and she made the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that it couldn't be used against the elven race in the Great War. I think that if she could go that far, I can marry Kendra, ya know?" he winced.
He smirked sadly, "That's what you keep telling yourself, huh?"
"Sometimes you have to remind yourselves that others have suffered more. It keeps you level-headed," he explained. "Like I said, you'll get it one day when you start working towards ruling your own country."
Ike scoffed, "Yeah, I'm not sure how that's gonna work. I thought that I would be the only one with a weird lineage problem down the line. Didn't know you'd be beating me to the punch."
Kyle nodded softly in agreement. It was true, and it was something that had deeply troubled him for years. Ike finding acceptance among a human kingdom down the way with his upbringing would be a monumental task, the redhead had been trying to formulate a strategy for him for so long. Now, it seemed as though the answer had been handed to him on a sparkling blue platter. "Well, now maybe it'll be easier for you," he assured him. "When your season comes about, Kendra and I will have been married for years and making our headway to the throne. People will most likely respect our union, see how well we treat her, and realize that you have a good head on your shoulders. What matters is how you present yourself through it all," he shrugged.
Ike nodded, "Yeah, I guess. Though I hate those fancy clothes as much as you do," he rolled his eyes.
Kyle snorted, "Yeah, well, sacrifice."
He chuckled, taking another bite of his apple and looking ahead of them, cocking his head. "Speaking of presenting, there's the crowning jewel herself," he rolled his eyes amusedly.
Kyle followed his stare, looking to see Kendra standing down the way, eyes set unblinking at the wall. She was glowing in the sunlight beaming through the window behind her, illuminating her silver gown like a wave breaking through a summer lake. Kyle bit his lip, eyes hitting her face and taking a deep breath. Something was going on here, and he just couldn't put his finger on it. He shook his head to himself and gulped, "Kendra?" he called, the princess shooting her attention over. She smiled brightly at the approaching princes, waving joyously.
"I'll give her this: She's excitable," Ike smirked. "Balances out your moodiness nicely."
"Fuck off," he muttered, shoving him a bit.
Ike chuckled, nodding to the girl as they came up beside her. "Princess," he greeted with a tiny bow. "I'll leave you two to suck face," he waved at them dismissively, walking around them and Craig standing down the way of the hall continuing on his way.
Kyle rolled his eyes in embarrassment. "Little nuisance," he grumbled, jerking back at a paper shoved under his nose.
'Didn't know Ike could read my mind,' she teased.
He looked up at her wryly, "Seriously? Can I get one word from you that isn't your perverted nonsense before you start?" She shook her head with a smirk and he sighed tiredly. "What're you up to?" he looked to follow her stare, finding the large hunter green tapestry draping from the wall presenting the Larnion sigil. Two bright copper foxes trailed down, mirror images with bushy tails twisted along one another's and intricately stitched chocolate eyes staring at each other as they ran.
He looked as her hand pointed to the red words stitched in elegant swoops: 'Areion arlathil udos naeardon, areion uss jalbyr udos dro'. She cocked her head interestedly and he smirked. "Roughly it means, 'Through nature we breathe, through one another we live'. Corny as shit, ain't it?" he chuckled.
She smiled, laughing along with him as she scribbled another message. 'Any particular reason why it's so corny?'
"Aside from the fact that most clan slogans are?" he shrugged with a small grin. "It's the elven way," he explained. "Nature lives through us, we give it our power and in return it gives us its essence." He grasped the leaf of a large tiger stripe resting in a ceramic pot beside of him, stroking over the epidermis genially. "Only with combined life force being given back to the earth can any species hope to thrive..." he trailed off, looking down at the green leaf brushing over his palm. "That's why we're so wary of humans," he murmured sadly. "They only want to industrialize. They want to press the lands back, force it to bow to their whim, when it should be the other way around. Or at least...balance should be met," he looked up at her intensive staring and sighed. "Then again, why should I tell you that? You're from one of the most industrialized cities in the world."
She looked down and away guiltily, listlessly writing him another note. 'If it makes you feel any better, I'd prefer a garden over a bakery any day.'
He smiled, laughing softly. "Good thing, we have a lot more trees than we do buildings in Larnion." He looked down at the plant, frowning at a dying leave crumpled and shriveled towards the bottom of the stalk. He dropped down onto his knees, waving for Kendra to follow him. She blinked, doing so and scooting up beside him. "You know why plants are so great?" he asked quietly.
She snagged her paper and quill from the table and brought them down next to her. 'Because... they're pretty?'
He snorted, "Well, there is that I suppose. But no. When humans and elves alike die, we stay dead, right?" She winced, but nodded along with him anyway. "Plants...they can be brought back," he smiled softly. "They're a constant loop of reincarnation. If it's the same essence that's brought back, who knows? It could very well be the life of a dying redwood that inhabits a tulip that withered and was watered back to life."
'Are you telling me that plants have souls?' she questioned.
Kyle looked at her, expecting a sarcastic, dry look. Instead he found himself staring at genuine curiosity, the princess seeming to soak in his every word. He smiled and shrugged, "I don't know. I couldn't tell you. But what I can tell you is that a plant is never just a plant. It's an entire life. You can feel it." She cocked her brow skeptically and he chuckled, grabbing her hand and placing it over the dead leaf, clasping it between his own hands with the frond fit snugly between their palms. "Just feel," he instructed, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them, Kendra nearly jerking back in shock at a light glow of green emitting from his irises. She looked down, Kyle's hands enveloped in the same ghastly shade and her jaw dropped in the slightest.
She bit her lip nervously as she felt movement against her palm, eyes widening as she watched withered brow beginning to fade back into spring green. The stem inflated once more, the leaf flattening out and becoming smooth as silk as though freshly popped from its soil. A gulp receded down her throat and she looked to see Kyle's eyes once again shut, a content smile over his face. She licked her lips, doing the same and letting her lids slip closed. She furrowed her brow, feeling a tingle rushing through her palm even through her silk gloves. It trickled through her skin, rushing along the lines of her hand and through her arm. A calming warmth swept through her entire body, worries and nerves taken by the tide. It went almost as quickly as it came, both of them reopening their eyes to the leaf. Kyle took his hands back as his glow faded, Kendra doing the same and both of them staring at Kyle's 'newborn'.
He turned to her, "Did you feel it?" he asked.
She nodded, in complete shock. Her hand shakily went to her quill, biting her lip as she handed an inquiry to him. 'Why doesn't it feel like that all the time?'
Kyle laughed softly, "Because you're not an elf," he elaborated. "When you're connected with one of us, you can get a taste of what we feel when we connect with nature. That's why we live like this," he gestured around, Kendra taking note of trees sprawling through floors, flowers and vines creeping along the walls. "We breathe in this setting. We live. And we only hope that they feel the same," he continued. He paused, smile fading just a bit. "Maybe it's all corny to you...but that's how we are. How I am," he shrugged sheepishly. "The words are ridiculously sentimental...but the meaning is real," he emphasized.
She grinned softly, 'I don't think it's corny. It's nice to be somewhere where things mean something other than them just being another possession.'
The prince blushed slightly, "I know King Fat-tits wasn't one for holding things with value other than for profit. It's...surprising that you're not the same way," he admitted.
'A good surprise?' she questioned teasingly.
He laughed and nodded, "Yeah. It's a really good one."
Kendra smiled wider, scooting closer to him, their legs pressed up against one another's. Kyle gulped, trying to settle nonchalantly as she crafted him another note. 'So that's your awe-inspiring magic, huh?'
He rolled his eyes, "Look, that's the simplest spell in the book, all right? One of the first that Drow children learn. Nothing to be impressed with."
'I'd say bringing things to life is pretty amazing,' she shrugged at him.
Kyle shifted and cleared his throat, brushing his bangs back and letting them flop back onto his forehead. "I mean...I guess?" he winced. "At least from a human's perspective. I know a lot more than just simple revitalizing, but we use it the most often."
'Maybe one day you'll let me see some other magic? I'm pretty curious as to what else elves can do.' She looked at him with eager, shining eyes and he smiled shyly.
"Maybe," he said softly. "I'm not a fan of doing magic with other people around...but maybe. Considering our circumstances and all," he laughed awkwardly.
'Well, thank you for showing me something then. I know you don't like to talk about it.'
He shrugged, tonguing over his lips, "I know you won't push me too far about it," he admitted softly. "You're the only one who hasn't asked me for more details about the whole situation..." he paused, looking up at her with a sad glaze over those forested eyes that made her heart sink lightly. "Look, one of these days...it's going to come up," he said evenly. "I'm due for another...bout of sickness, probably in a week or so," he murmured hesitantly. "I'm not sure entirely what I do, but people have told me it gets...scary," he frowned deeper, looking at the tiger stripe tiredly. Kendra watched him worriedly as he shifted, rolling his shoulders back and sighing. "No one's been willing to tell me just what it is that happens, they seem to think I'll get scared of what I can do and just...collapse," he gestured defeatedly. "I just thought I should warn you."
He glanced down at a small message pressed under his nose. 'You're too small to be too scary.' she teased lightly and he smirked. 'But thank you for telling me. I'll find a way to help you through it.'
Kyle smiled sadly, looking back up at her reassuring expression. "Thank you," he whispered.
Kendra stared at him for a bit before moving closer and cupping his chin. Kyle blinked in shock as she turned his head and yanked down her scarf just a tad, planting a long, hot kiss on his cheek. She readjusted her headwear and let go of his face, watching him slowly turn back towards her, red face alive and stunned. "What was that for?" he asked, voice turned up an octave. She smirked softly and shrugged, scratching her head awkwardly, not quite sure herself. He stared at her a bit longer, watching her slowly beginning to fuss with her hands and drop her stare to the ground with his silence, reading the worry exuding from her with ease. He perched up on his knees, leaning forward before he could catch himself and kissing her cheekbone back. She shot her head up in surprise, their faces beaming heat onto one another's from the intimate proximity.
They both smiled awkwardly, Kendra pressing her head down to rest their foreheads together. Kyle gulped, eyes slipping shut and a long breath filling his lungs. He could smell pine needles, sticky with sap in the autumn sun. It saturated him, weighed him down before lifting him into a world of comfort in the homey aroma. Kendra smiled, hand going to clasp around the redhead's, their fingers automatically finding their places alongside each other's and lightly hooking through and around.
Kyle opened his eyes at paper being pressed against him, reading a simple 'what was that for?' He smirked, giving her a return shrug and they both laughed quietly, letting a calm silence break over them as they rested against one another in comfortable stillness.
Craig watched from across the hall, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at their little clumsy display of affection. "Fucking royals," he muttered. His ears perked at a soft thumping down the hall, looking to see Stan and Christophe walking towards them. Stan's eyes drifted down to the two on the floor, jaw dropping slightly at the show.
"Your Highness?" he barely managed to eek out. The prince and princess nearly jumped away from each other, looking to see the hallway for what felt like the first time.
"Stan," Kyle said hurriedly, struggling back to his feet and helping Kendra up as well. "You found me," he smiled embarrassedly.
"Yeah. I did," he frowned, looking at the both of them with red faces and awkwardly trying to figure out what to do with their hands as they listlessly clasped around themselves.
He looked at his prince, reading his expression with ease. "Please don't," the elf silently begged him. "I told you where this stands. I don't want to hurt you, please don't hurt me."
He took a deep breath, staring at the flustered redhead. "Looks like you know," he said softly. Kyle dropped his eyes guiltily, giving him a lackluster shrug. Kendra looked between the both of them, eyes narrowing just the slightest in suspicion. The group stood in awkward silence for a moment, focus locked on the prince and his ranger.
"Prince Kyle?" a separate voice called.
"Oh thank god," Kyle murmured under his breath, straightening up and turning to see a servant heading his way. "Yes?"
The elf bowed quickly, "Prince Kyle, the grand healer wishes to speak to you in...preparation," he said hesitantly.
Kyle gulped, nodding softly. Instinct had never led him wrong before, and it seemed the healer could sense the same amount of sickening dread heading towards him like a storm cloud. "Thank you, is she in her study?" The elf nodded, Kendra catching the sympathetic glaze over dark brown eyes. "That'll be all," Kyle smiled meekly. "Thank you."
"Of course, Your Highness," he bowed again, turning and heading back towards his duties.
Stan took a deep breath, stepping up beside the prince and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't realize how close we were."
"Well...let's just be thankful it follows a timetable," Kyle murmured, bringing his hand up and clasping his fingers around Stan's own. He looked up at Kendra and forced a smile on his face to combat her worried expression. "Sorry, I have to go see her."
She handed him a note, biting her lip anxiously, 'Would you like me to come with you?'
He paused for a moment, letting the thought settle over him before Stan cleared his throat. "I don't think it's necessary, My Prince," he inputted.
Kyle looked up at his defeated expression and sighed, "She's going to have to learn about it at some point, Stan. Can't exactly hide it..." he looked back at her and nodded. "If you want to, I won't stop you. Just know that you're not going to be getting any more information than what I get unless someone chooses to speak with you privately...Which they may do anyway considering all this," he gestured between the both of them. He slumped tiredly, knowing he was in for a round of tests of blood being taken to mix with herbs and a regiment of little to no sleep until the illness came and went. "To weaken the potential," he'd been told time and again.
Kendra sighed, watching the anxiety worming through the redhead. She grasped his hand comfortingly, stroking her thumb lightly along the back of his fingers. She looked up, catching Stan glaring at her before quickly breaking eye contact as she hit his gaze. She narrowed her eyes, grating the inside of her lip. 'Jealous?' she thought bitterly. 'Sorry, but you have to share him now, Buddy.' She squeezed the prince's hand pointedly, letting him take a wavering breath before stepping off with her and leading the group down the winding corridors. Kendra and Stan kept their eyes locked on one another over Kyle's drooping head, each pair screaming their message loud and clear: "Just try and take him from me."
A/N: Shit's gettin' real, yo
But yay first kisses of awkwardness and a lot of cheesiness I live for this crap pff
Thanks for R&Ring!