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A king's tale
2
It was no secret to anyone who knew the king of Fanelia well enough that his highness wasn't exactly fond of royal ceremonies. In fact, he pretty much loathed them, and it wasn't that unusual to see him blurt out to whoever might hear him that he'd much rather go to war at any given time than be forced to socialize with those of his kin. So much so, that his advisors had long ago given up on trying to persuade him to hold festivities or other such important social or political gatherings at the palace; leaving the ballroom and ceremonial parlour to collect dust over the years.
So it came as no surprise to anyone that Van seemed to be quite bored that afternoon amongst so many foreign royals and officials thrown into one of those scarcely ever used rooms… even if it was his own wedding ceremony he was attending!
The young king huffed for what felt like the hundredth time in the course of that hour. He's back was beginning to hurt due to him being forced to stand completely still in front of the ceremonial altar for way too long, as the man behind it kept blabbering nonsense in some old forgotten language no one in the room seemed to be able to understand except himself.
Dressed in the most flamboyant outfit the young king had ever laid eyes on, the so called minister, that was so gravely and passionately conducting his wedding ceremony, seemed more equipped for a circus act than his present task. Of course the fact that the old man appeared to like to act out some parts of his speech with exaggerated hand movements didn't help Van's opinion of him.
It was in fact one of his overly choreographic moves, during what could only be assumed as a very serious part of the ceremony, if the minister's grave demeanour was any indication of it, that made Van completely loose control of himself and burst into laughs.
And although he was sure the audience behind him was far too numb to notice his quiet laughter, he did feel someone beside him flinch as soon as he bent his head down in order to conceal his inappropriate grin.
Very slowly, Van chanced looking sideways at the figure clad in white that had been standing by his side since the whole ordeal had started that afternoon.
Well, he had to give credit to Allen on one thing. Princess Hitomi of Cesario was by no means ugly. To Van's surprise she was quite the opposite actually. Perhaps not as eye catching as his usual lady friends, but he was forced to admit she did have a certain charm... Not that he actually cared much about the fact.
Of course he couldn't say the same about her personality, for as soon as she'd locked eyes with him for the first in the reception room a few hours ago, he knew he was in for a whole lot of trouble. Why, if one could poison another just by exchanging looks, Van was pretty convinced he'd be dead by now.
No, there was absolutely no need for anyone to tell him that the princess wasn't fond of him. Actually he was getting more and more convinced as the ceremony went by that Hitomi of Cesario utterly disliked him and that she was in no way standing by his side out of her own free will…
Of course as was expected from a royal of her kind, the princess seemed to be the proverbial picture of politeness and attentiveness and even though Van and her had the opportunity to exchange a few words before being rushed into the ceremonial parlour, never once did she direct a cross word at him or really gave him or anyone of his party any indication she might dislike him or his country.
Van wasn't fooled that easily though. He was more than accustomed to having people lie around him. He could detect deceitfulness a mile away. Her words might had seemed honest, but her eyes had proven them wrong.
And although his advisors bought every single one of her false claims; thanking the gods for their good fortune in finding such a wonderful queen for their country, Van however, was sure Hitomi knew he had seen right through her; and that he was very much aware that he was about to marry a double edged sword.
That was why he couldn't help grinning every time he'd catch a glimpse of her during the ceremony; even if his piercing stare ended up making her extremely uncomfortable; just like it doing was at the moment, as she nervously bit her lower lip hoping he'd avert his eyes from her.
Van was about to laugh again when he suddenly felt something nudging him on the ribs. His head spun around automatically only to find Allen standing on his left side, with an aggravated look on his face.
"What?" Van whispered not so quietly.
The blond knight didn't answer him though; opting instead to discreetly point a finger in the direction of the ceremonial altar. Grumbling to himself, Van looked to where his attention was being demanded and nearly jumped up in surprise.
The old minister was standing right in front of him with a look of aprehension plastered on his features.
"So... do you, your highness?" He asked, in an almost frightened manner.
"Huh?... Do I what?" Van mimicked his confused look at the same time he could have sworn he heard Allen gasp in shock beside him.
"…Well, sir… As I have asked you before,… do you take princess Hitomi as your queen?... Sir?"
"...Oh, that!...Yeah, sure. Why not?" He shrugged casually.
This time though it wasn't just Allen that Van heard gasping. The young king's nonchalant remark caused quite a stir in the audience behind him.
"Oh well," He thought amused. "At least that woke them up!"
If Van thought his wedding ceremony had been boring, nothing could have prepared him for the tediously long and surprisingly gloomy reception that was held afterwards in the ballroom. Indeed it was so glum and despondent that at some point Van wondered if he hadn't attended livelier funerals.
On his advisors recommendation the reception had only been opened to the Fanelian and Cesarian parties; in a somewhat pathetically diplomatic way of trying to further strengthen the new friendly alliance between the two otherwise opposing countries.
The thought of taking advantage of the princess's new status as part of the Fanelian family to help ease the situation had surely crossed their eager minds and their idea would had worked brilliantly if not for the little fact that every time anyone would mention the words 'Queen', 'Hitomi' and 'Fanelia' in the same sentence, someone over at the Cesarian delegation would immediately start sobbing.
And it wasn't just the queen's ladies-in-waiting that were putting on a show with their grieving tears. Although their wailing was downright annoying, the tense atmosphere one could immediately feel when entering the room was mainly due to something else, something quite different…
Something involving politics, greed and a whole lot of hatred. Quite an explosive combination considering the parts involved.
From his spot on the throne Van had a clear view of everyone in the room; of every fake smile, of every contemptuous expression, of every tense word being exchanged by the Cesarian and Fanelian delegations.
And considering that just a week prior to that date most of the royal officials in the room had most likely encountered each other on opposing sides of the same battlefield it was indeed surprising that the ballroom hadn't by then already turned into a bloodied therapeutic session of unresolved issues between them.
The ridiculousness of the situation only succeeded in making Van laugh further. How on Gaea had his advisors come up with the idea that a political marriage between the two countries could suddenly heal all their wounds was truly beyond him.
He wondered though, if his advisors, now visibly bothered by the tense situation, weren't themselves also beginning to question their resolve. Well, it was not like Van hadn't warned them!
It was utterly obvious on the Cesarian delegates' faces that none of them were exactly thrilled to be in the company of who they were at the moment. And truth be told, the same could be said for the Fanelians. Why, even the calm and diplomatic Allen Schezar seemed to be having a hard time striking up polite conversation with the Cesarian Prime Minister standing next to him.
If Van's memory wasn't failing him, he had just counted the eleventh fake smile on the blond's face since the reception had started, and in all seriousness, he wasn't even paying much attention to the knight at all.
Van's attention was indeed being driven somewhere else most of the time. Somewhere far more pleasant, some might even say. Although in Van's personal case, it was more a question of curiosity than anything else that kept his eyes roaming back to the lady sitting on the smaller throne beside him.
For Lady Hitomi of Cesario seemed to either be giving him the silent treatment or to had lost the ability to speak altogether. Indeed, since the young king's not so courteous remark during their wedding ceremony she had not said a word to him, nor had she deigned herself to even look his way for that matter.
It was clear to Van that even she had ceased to hide her animosity toward him, although he had to admit, he had expected her to act more like the unpleasant Cesarian officials of her party and not so much as the shy, insecure persona whose ways she seemed to had adopted for the moment.
Sitting perfectly still on the plush throne built specially for her, with her petite hands resting on her lap and an almost frightened look on her face, she seemed a shadow of the confident young lady Van had met that afternoon.
He was pretty much confused over her unexpected transformation himself and was about to address her when suddenly all hell broke loose inside the ballroom.
"Blasphemy! How dare you speak ill of our king?" Were the angry words of a Cesarian official, standing close to the newlywed couple.
The Fanelian advisor that was yelled at turned pale instantly. "But, I did not…" He started, clearly confused by the other man's behaviour. "I've only mentioned that it is a shame that king Mamoru couldn't be present today for the ceremony… It would have been considered and added reassurance for the stability of the peace treaty if his highness would have joined us today for the celebrations."
"Our king has given his consent regarding this marriage. That should be more than enough proof of his good intentions toward Fanelia for you all to content yourselves with."
"Good intentions toward Fanelia?" One of Van's Generals suddenly exclaimed. "And what good intentions were there in the attack your king orchestrated against our southern boarder last week? Did he perhaps wish to have his troops beaten up by ours one last time for memory's sake?"
His mocking remark, granted him a few laughs and approving nods from the Fanelian side. As a result though, the tense atmosphere inside the room only got worse.
"Are you suggesting our king is not taking the peace treaty between our countries seriously, dear friend?" The Cesarian official asked defiantly.
"I'm merely suggesting, dear friend, that if king Mamoru is willing to sell his own sister to his sworn enemy, there is no telling what he'll do next…"
Poison was pouring out of the other man's eyes when he spoke again. "Princess Hitomi will forever remain Cesarian! No peace treaty will change that. Don't think that just because she'll be living in Fanelia from now on, she'll condone your barbaric lifestyle."
"Why you insufferable creature…" The General said between clenched teeth. His angry words were followed by those of his comrades and soon after by others of the opposing party. The noise around the room soon became unbearable.
"ENOUGH!" Van's commanding voice echoed throughout the ballroom, halting everyone's movements. "I will hear no more of this, nor will I tolerate any more of this behaviour. The peace treaty has been signed and the terms agreed on by both parties... However, if anyone present has any doubts about it, they are free to discuss them with the tip of my sword…" His threat seemed to do the trick, as the room went dead silent as soon as he finished speaking.
"Now if you'll excuse me," Van added while getting up from his seat. "It is getting rather late and this is my wedding night, so I would like to have some time alone with my new queen." He added smugly.
As soon the words left Van's mouth a new wave of sobs insued, making him roll his eyes. He chose to ignore them as well as the hate filled stares he was being given by the remaining Cesarian officials and turned around to face Hitomi, extending his hand to her at the same time. "Care to retire with me, my queen?"
Although Hitomi didn't answer him, she placed one of her trembling hands on top of his on and slowly got up from her seat as well.
The young king couldn't help grinning though as he walked past the Cesarian officials who had caused so much commotion, with their precious princess in his hand.
As Van made his way through the silent corridors with his wife beside him, he found himself smiling yet again at her frightened demeanour. Poor girl, though. With all the stories she would no doubt have heard of him and his reputation when it came to women, Van could only imagine the dark scenarios going through her mind.
As soon as he stopped in front of a pair of large doors, her nervousness increased. And there was no way she could hide it now, as even her free hand was visibly shaking although she did try to stop it by tightly squeezing the side of her dress.
"Well, I believe these were the rooms appointed to you." Van started calmly, nevertheless. "You should find your belongings inside already. If not… feel free to yell at the maids or something… I personally find that they're more productive if they are yelled at…It might work for you too." He mentioned half-jokingly.
His attempt to lighten her solemn mood didn't work though. She still refused to lift her gaze from the floor, let alone direct a single word at him. Knowing he would probably not get any sort of satisfactory reply out of her for that day, Van soon took her small hand from the top of his own and placed it on the doorknob.
"Well then I bid you good night, your highness." He said with a light bow and turned around to leave her.
The sound of her shy voice soon soon stopped him though.
"Aren't… Aren't you going to come in?"
He tried as best as he could to conceal the grin that appeared on his lips, as he turned to look at her; his eyes wide in faked confusion. She herself had her eyes on him now; a clear mixture of surprise and apprehension looming over them.
"Whatever for?" He asked, unable to hide his amusement any longer, while slowly making his way towards her again.
Her skin flushed instantly. "I…I was under the impression that it was a Fanelian costume for the bride and groom to spend their wedding night together."
Chuckling softly, Van slowly leaned towards her, whispering against her ear. "Even if the bride cares nothing for the groom?"
His sudden closeness seemed to trigger some self-defence mechanism in Hitomi making her immediately take a step backwards in an attempt to put some distance between them. "I have never said-"
Amused by her reaction, Van nonetheless pulled himself away from her. "There's really no need to pretend, your highness…We both know this marriage is just a political façade. Besides, I do treasure my life a great deal and if I were to spend the night with you I fear I might wake up with a dagger against my neck."
His comment left her speechless. Van couldn't tell if she looked more appalled or hurt by it. "I would never…" She paused to collect her thoughts for a moment; her voice was shaking when she spoke up again. "Well sir, I see now that all I've heard of you is true…"
"Oh really? And what could you possibly have heard of me?"
His mocking demeanour made her green eyes flicker with rage.
"...Nothing good I can assure you. You're mostly referred to as a spoiled, pretentious and arrogant king who thinks wars are some sort of recreational sport and that mistreats and discards women like-"
"Hey!" Van stopped her; not so amused this time. "If you want to think of me as a lousy king, go ahead. I'm sure your brother has poisoned your mind enough on that matter." He snickered. "But I have never mistreated a woman in my life. Ever!... Hell, I treat them so well they keep begging me to get back into my bed."
The sound of her palm hitting Van's cheek echoed through the silent hall even after Hitomi had disappeared behind the heavy doors of her new chambers.
Van was left staring dumbfounded at the closed doors, wondering if he had imagined what had just happened.
He slowly took a hand to his burning cheek, massaging it carefully. "…Well, that was a first!" he mumbled.
Sorry it took me so long to update and thank you so much for all the reviews. I'm glad you liked the first chapter =)