Gregory felt awkward at the table. His father sat at the head of the table while his mother and the other king and queen sat across from him, along with Mark. To his left was Thomas and two seats to his right was Estella. But he had been forced to sit next to Rebecca, who was directly to his right, for reasons no one disclosed to him. It's not that he didn't like Rebecca - he, for the record, thought she was very kind - he just didn't know why Rebecca had to sit next to him specifically, and not any other member of the other royal family.
"A toast to unity." Gregory's father said as he lifted his goblet to the air. Everyone else lifted theirs as well with a 'to unity', except for Gregory. He shifted uncomfortably as he attempted not to make eye contact with anyone as he stared down at his plate of decadent food. Once everyone had settled down again and began eating, it was quiet for a bit until Gregory's father spoke again. "So, we have some good news to share. It's been discussed between us and the advisors, and we've all come to a unanimous decision."
"Oh, it's such wonderful news." Gregory's mother said with a smile
"Indeed." The other queen added. "We could change the future of our kingdoms."
"Oh, how are you doing that?" Gregory asked, actually mildly interested.
"We're going to unite our kingdoms to become the ultimate superpowers. Think of it, Gregory..." His father said. "...the two wealthiest kingdoms in the land merging to become one! Could you imagine how powerful we would be as a whole?"
"And it would benefit everyone." The other king concurred.
"How do you merge kingdoms?" Gregory asked curiously.
"Well, there are several ways, but due to some fortunate circumstances, we're taking a particular route." His father said before pausing for dramatic effect as he smiled. "Marriage." Gregory's eyes widened a bit.
"Who's getting married?" He asked innocently. Both kings and queens laughed, and he even heard Thomas snicker next to him. However, Mark and Rebecca seemed just as confused at he was, and Estella just looked entirely displeased.
"Well, my son..." His mother began. "...you are." It felt as if time stopped.
"I...I am? To whom?" His eyes widened further as his mother pointed to the girl he'd been forced to sit next to. Rebecca stiffened.
"Me?" She asked incredulously. "Father-" She said pleadingly as she turned her gaze to him. "...you're surely jesting..."
"Father, I don't want to marry her." Gregory whined, but was drowned out by Rebecca and her parents.
"Darling, this is for the better of everyone. Don't you want to serve your kingdom?" Rebecca's father asked her.
"Father, he's eight! He's six years younger than me!" She cried. "And arranged marriage is hardly fair!"
"Don't raise your voice at your father, dear." Her mother warned. Gregory's father held up his hands.
"That's enough bickering, the lot of you." He then turned his gaze towards Gregory and Rebecca.
"Now, I know this is sudden, but this could really help our kingdoms prosper-"
"I am not a pawn for you to play with!" Rebecca suddenly snapped, the first time her tone actually sounded even remotely aggressive.
"Rebecca!" The other queen hissed. "Don't disrespect our host!"
"It's fine. This is shocking news, so discourse is expected." Gregory's father said in an understanding tone. "Look, we understand this is a lot to take in. But one day you'll be king, Gregory, and you need to understand that a king has to make a lot of choices, and sometimes sacrifice for the good of the people. And, when you're 16, you'll be of age, and you and Rebecca will marry. Your mother and I were arranged to be married. It's the natural order of things, son." Gregory furrowed his brows and slammed his hands on the table. He was fuming, and he knew words were going to come out of him that he knew he would regret, but the twisting anger in his gut overpowered any rational thought he had.
"I don't care! I'm not getting married to some girl I don't even know! You can't make me!"
"But, son-"
"No! She's way older than me and she's not even interesting! I don't want to marry her, or anyone!" He snapped before sliding off of his chair and storming out.
"Gregory! Don't you walk away from your father!" His father yelled in a booming voice, the blonde flinching from how angry he sounded, but it was when he heard 'Thomas, get him' that he tried to book it, but he wasn't fast enough as two arms quickly found their way around him from behind and scooped him off of the ground.
"Come on, you little brat-" He heard Thomas' voice, but he couldn't turn around, so he grabbed the boy's arm and bit down as hard as he could. "Ah!" The second Thomas dropped him, he darted for the stairs, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He didn't look back as he heard yelling from behind him, and kept running until he came to his room. Christophe's eyes widened as he saw Gregory run in and slam the door behind him and locked it, leaning his back against it and panting heavily. They widened even further when he saw a bit of blood smeared on his face. They locked eyes for a moment until Christophe quickly stood and walked over to him, hesitantly moving to put a hand on his back.
"Gregory...?" He whimpered. He could feel Gregory shaking, and he furrowed his brows in concern.
"He can't...he can't make me...He can't make me..." Gregory panted. Christophe was about to speak again, but was distracted as the sound of thundering footsteps could be heard approaching the door. The blonde instinctively pressed his back firmly on the door as there was a fiddling of the knob and slamming of a fist against the wood.
"Gregory, open the door this instant!" When he didn't answer, the slamming grew progressively louder. "Gregory, answer me! I know you're in there!" There was grunting as he tried to force the door open. Christophe glared at the door as he contemplated for a moment. Then, thinking quickly, he grabbed Gregory's hand and pulled him to the bed before pointing under it. Gregory looked at the bed, then at him, before giving a curt nod, moving so he could crawl his way underneath. No sooner had he done that did the door slam open, the lock busting and clattering to the floor. There stood Gregory's father, fuming mad and red in the face as he stalked into the room. He glared at Christophe, who immediately straightened and looked back at him. "Where is he?" He demanded. Stone-faced, Christophe remained silent. Gregory flinched as he watched his father backhand the boy across the face before grabbing him by the collar. "You will speak when spoke to!" Even still, Christophe said nothing and stared blankly into the man's eyes. It's not like he could say anything that the man could understand anyway. Gregory laid there, frozen in fear, but he steeled himself as he watched his dear servant taking one for the team. He gulped as he couldn't let that happen when he did nothing wrong, so he slid from under the bed and stood up straight, fists clenched.
"Don't hurt him!" He demanded, though his voice was several octaves higher than normal from fear. "I'm right here!" His father looked at him before throwing Christophe to the ground. He walked up to Gregory with a disdainful look.
"Do you have any idea what you cost us?! What you cost your kingdom?! Your people?!" He snarled. "Because of your behavior, the Cotswolds are leaving early, and they are thinking of cancelling the arranged marriage!"
"Good! I don't want to marry her!" Gregory shrieked. "It's not fair!" That's when he felt the sting of the back of his father's hand for himself. He stumbled back, cupping his cheek.
"Don't you talk back to me, boy! Life's not fair! You just have to learn to live with that fact! You're a prince, act like one!" His father huffed. "You may have just cost us the alliance of a lifetime! We would've been the most powerful nation in the world had you simply agreed to marry the girl! For your sake, you'd better hope they change their mind about cancelling! And you can forget about finishing dinner! You're to go straight to bed, and if I hear a single peep out of you before tomorrow, you're going to get it! Do you understand?!" When Gregory said nothing, he grabbed the blonde by his arm and yanked him up sharply, causing a cry of pain to escape him. "Do you understand?!"
"Yes!" Gregory sobbed. "Y-yes..." With that, he let go, and Gregory immediately sunk to his knees on the ground. His father turned sharply and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Trembling, Gregory clambered onto his bed and sobbed into the pillow. Christophe stared wide-eyed at him from where he sat on the floor, not having dared get up while Gregory's father was in there. He listened to him for a few moments before standing and walking over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. He let out a sigh, reaching out a hand and placing it on Gregory's sure-to-be bruised cheek. The blonde flinched, turning his face from the pillow slightly to look at him in his peripherals. He sniffled, a shaky whimper escaping him. "Th-thanks f-f-for t...t-trying to...h-help..." He stuttered out through his fading sobs. After a few moments of trying to collect himself, he slowly sat up before tenderly wrapping his arms around Christophe and pulling him into a hug. For once, the boy expected the action. And, for the first time ever, albeit hesitantly, he loosely hugged him back.
"S'il vous plaît, ne pleure pas..." Christophe mumbled into his ear as he rested his chin on the blonde's shoulder. Gregory sniffled as he buried his face in Christophe's neck, leaving wet spots in his shirt from his tears. Christophe didn't know what to do and there was nothing to say, really, so he just continued holding him until he calmed down. He closed his eyes as, after a bit, Gregory finally managed to relax against him, the crying clearly having been a drain on him. He finally seemed to calm down, and when his tears subsided, Christophe opened his eyes slightly. "Good...?" He murmured. Gregory couldn't help but show the faintest of smiles as the boy spoke the single English word, and he tightened his hold on him slightly.
"Good..." He sniffled. Christophe gave a small nod of satisfaction as he separated himself from Gregory. His gaze wandered back to his cheek, where there was now a faint mark that was hardly noticeable. Hopefully, that would be the darkest it gets. Christophe pointed to the blonde's cheek.
"Purple..." He said with a frown. Gregory touched his lightly bruised cheek and winced.
"Yes...I'm not surprised..." He sighed. "At least you're applying your color knowledge correctly." He gave a crooked, halfhearted smile, which looked odd juxtapose to his cheeks that were reddened and streaked with tears. Christophe nodded despite not understanding his statement. He didn't want to frustrate Gregory with their language barrier at a time like this. The blonde rubbed his eyes and yawned, his sobbing having made him drowsy. "I think...I think I want to sleep, now...I want to forget about today, and maybe...maybe tomorrow will be better..." He sniffled. Again, Christophe mindlessly nodded. "Can you get my pajamas...?" Lucky for Christophe, the word for pajamas in his language was almost exactly the same, so that hadn't been a hard word to learn. He slid off of the bed and went to his dresser, pulling out a pale blue, striped, button-up shirt and pants set. Gregory moved to the edge of the bed as Christophe came back and placed it in his hands. "Good choice." Gregory said with a small smile as he started to dress himself. As he slipped his shirt on, he stopped to yawn, and Christophe took the liberty to button his shirt up for him, as he was so used to having to do. Once dressed, Gregory pulled his covers back and settled himself back in his bed, turning his tear-stained pillow over so he wouldn't sleep in discomfort. Seeing that Gregory was finally going to bed, Christophe knew his duties were now over for the day, but as he moved to retreat back to his bed on the floor, he felt a hand grasp his arm, and he turned his head to see Gregory gazing at him with an almost...desperate and pleading expression.
"Oui?" He asked. Did he have another task for him?
"Christophe, I...I'd rather not...sleep alone tonight...I need...comforting...D-do you...want to join me...up here...?" He asked softly. Even his tone was pleading. Christophe tilted his head slightly, but got the message as he felt Gregory lightly tugging his arm towards him. He'd never slept in Gregory's bed before, and the thought seemed almost inconceivable, but he gave a curt nod and clambered onto the bed next to him. This was a task he could manage. The cushioning was almost dreamlike, and Christophe could feel himself almost instantly relax. Gregory seemed relieved that he joined him, but it's not like he technically was allowed to say no. He laid on his side to face the blonde with an almost perplexed expression as the boy took his blankets and covered both of them. "Goodnight, Christophe..." Gregory said tiredly.
"Goodnight." Christophe murmured back as he got comfortable, which wasn't difficult for once, and closed his eyes. However, it wasn't long before he felt two arms snake around him and the feeling of the other's forehead press against his. While surprised by the action, he made no move to break away or even open his eyes. But he did do something that he hadn't since the day he arrived.
He smiled.