Happy New Year! It's late, but better late than never.

I sincerely apologize for the short hiatus. I was supposed to upload the last chapter three weeks ago. But I received news that will have a big impact on my current living status of where I live. *Drumroll please* - My permanent residency to Canada has been approved!

How, what does it mean? Well, I need to travel there to to start the process of claiming my identity cards, apply for a tax number, check the place where I am moving, etc, etc. I will need to facilitate my move there as soon as I can. However, it may still be possible for me to extend my stay here (where I am at), and buy some time to settle things, so my permanent move will be sometime in the future. But it will happen.

Updates will be sporadic. I will still try my best to continue posting on a weekly basis. But there will be times that I will be off for a few weeks. So, for those who have invested time in this story, I thank you for being so patient with me. I intend to finish this, but not as fast as I would have wanted. There are so many things I need to prioritize, and writing, for now, has taken a backseat. (Adulting 101)

Hopefully, once I settled in Canada, I will have more time to sit down, sort out my works (many of which have not seen the light of day), and concentrate on writing again. Occasionally, I still do get the urge to write new outlines and complete them in a matter of days.

I was tempted to write some stuff for Star Wars fandom, especially since I am now a converted Reylo-shipper (hey, any fellow Reylos here, too?). But I decided not to commit on works that I may never finish. However, if you guys are interested, I compiled a list of Reylo-inspired playlist (REYLO SOUNDBITE) over at Spotify. Jump on board and add in your song contribution. You can find my spotify by searching my profile name. :D

So sorry for all the ramblings, and boring updates. Enjoy the latest chapter.

Title: Zen, the Playboy Prince

Inspired by: Chapter 46 of the manga Akagami no Shirayukihime

Character: Izana Wistalia, Lord Haruka

Word count: 1013

Rating: General

Status: Beta-ed chapter by Kartara. Please check out her profile and support her works

"Your Highness."

I glanced up and found Lord Haruka's face with a look of utmost despair. A black cloud seemed to hang over him; his skin looked a little grey and the eyebags on his eyes are darker.

"Lord Haruka." I frowned, dropping the quill I was holding. "What happened to you?" I gave a questioning glance towards Maruko, who returned my look with an equally puzzled expression.

"I beg your pardon, Prince Izana." Lord Haruka slid a small wooden box filled with folded papers—some of them looked expensive enough to be used as official correspondences by aristocratic families.

"What are these?" My fingers flitted to it gingerly, my nose twitching after capturing some scent floating from between the papers; roses and lilacs, lemon citrus and sandalwood. I could feel some hard-wax crackling.

"Invitations, Prince Izana. Letters from chancellors, aristocratic patriarchs, foreign diplomats… erm… requests for marriage meetings and formal balls."

Oh dear.

"…not only for you, Your Highness, but most are addressed to your brother, Prince Zen," He added hurriedly.

The end of the year is drawing to a close. Ærra Jeola is around the corner, and the citizens looked forward to celebrating this special occasion. Naturally, a lot of balls are planned; parties are organized, where family members invite their guests to come and celebrate with them. This season is also known as the winter mating month- where young couples get engaged and alliances are formed.

"I know this is supposed to be a good thing, but there are a lot of names here." I frowned. "Was my brother running about the entire country giving flowers to everyone?"

Lord Haruka tried to cover the snort he involuntarily made, and ended up coughing a few times. "No, Your Highness. I believe the reason why there are a lot of invitations is because you have never hosted a ball before."

I haven't?

"I hated balls ever since I turned ten." Indeed, after that disastrous party my mother hosted for a visiting royal family, I was besieged by guests—female guests—wanting to get acquainted with me. It was the start of my rebellious stage and I am sure I did something memorable.

"I need not remind Your Highness that you hated being mobbed by the female guests that you once ended up backing into the fruit punch table and knocking an entire crystal goblet tower onto the floor, nearly hitting the Duke of Spoleto in the head at the bottom part of the ballroom." Lord Haruka clamped a hand to his mouth a second too late when he realized that he blabbed too much.

Ahh. The Duke of Spoleto. No wonder he was wary about standing near me. The poor old man hardly ever comes out of his castle home, preferring to live like a hermit and letting his sons fulfill his duties on his behalf. Now that Lord Haruka has mentioned that horrible episode, I seemed to remember my own mother banning me from ever coming near breakable glass and crystals until I was slightly older.

"I have forgotten about that episode, Lord Haruka. You made it sound even worse coming from your mouth," I replied dryly. And here I am thinking that Zen was the only one who had an embarrassing awkward period. Should I apologize for thinking the worse about him?

Fingering the paper again, more scent of lilac and orange blossoms rose into the air, assailing my nose. The number of invites indicate that the fickle-minded aristocrats has recognized my brother as a member of the royal family, and a potential leader that will support the future King. Naturally, all would be doing their best to try and capture his attention. Zen is a good catch, second only to myself. And it looks like a lot of people have come to the same conclusion. The party may be more to showcasing my brother like a thoroughbred horse—he will be most annoyed when he finds out. However, this is a perfect opportunity to mingle as well.

What better way than to gather them under one roof and observe closely without any notice? Surely a few hours of well-mannered frivolity is a small price to pay for whatever information I can obtain. At the same time…

Shirayuki wearing a gown and smiling up at me flash before my eyes. I never got the chance to see how she impressed the royalty from Tanbarun. Maybe it's time I see for myself how far she has grown.

I stood up, gathered my coat and rang the silver bell from the table where my hand rested earlier. Immediately, Iyasu went in, handed a thick pile of more papers to Maruko who helped me stack the papers I just finished signing, before standing by the side of my table to await my orders for the day's castle inspections.

"Lord Haruka, I trust that you will convey to my brother about this ball we are having. How about we decide on a date now?" I pretended to flip back and forth over my calendar book, already decided on a date. My finger landed on the night before the Ærra Jeola.

Perfect.

Lord Haruka's eyebrows disappeared beneath his fringe.

"Are you sure? But that's less than three weeks!" he spluttered. "Will Her Majesty be able to attend?"

I waved my hand in dismissal. The women traditionally handle all the details for such occasions, and my mother is not around. Tied up with all the political affairs in Wilant Castle, she will not be able to come in time for the ball, let alone plan the event.

"Do not fuss, Lord Haruka. A high-ranking female will handle the details of the festivity. We have two of them. Though I think the other will take on the bulk of the planning." Already, I can hear the cogs of my mind turning as I warmed up to the idea. Here is an opportunity to prove her capabilities.

"Who?" Lord Haruka frowned in puzzlement.

I smiled mysteriously. "You'll see."

Notes:

I read Victorian and Regency romance novels—voraciously during a phase when I first came to Singapore for overseas work. I still read a couple once in a while. Mating season during the Victorian era occurs in the Spring and Summer seasons, where most of the ton (aristocratic families) go to London to socialize and celebrate. I was influenced by those books with this chapter. Ærra Jeola is a Yuletide celebration, and many countries celebrate Yule (or Christmas, whichever way you call it) in December, or winter season. I figured, I'd expand on this chapter arc further by creating a fictional celebration before moving on to other chapters.

A lot of people enjoy celebrations, and balls are held not only to celebrate, but to create an atmosphere where single people can be free to seek out their intended partners, or create opportunities to bond with other people for future relationships (I sound like a history teacher—sorry!). So I exerted some creative license here, by making it a Clarines tradition to have winter balls that also serve as mating season for matchmaking families wishing to get their marriageable sons and daughters off the market. I would also like to think that Clarines traditionally accepts a long engagement—the better to get to know their partners. I went further ahead by deciding that the minimum waiting period for a couple would be from winter (at the time of the engagement) towards Spring (three or four months later). Thus, when two people married during Spring, it would be just the right atmosphere to procreate or start a new life and/or family.

Lastly, I feel like my time period is wrong when I wrote the chapters. Pardon me for not paying attention to it. So, if it happens that I put in a time skip or something, it's because of my lack of attention.