"Have you heard the rumors?"
The problem with taking meals in the courtyard is having do deal with the gossip of servants as they come and go in their duties. They speak as though no one could possibly hear them, even though they speak their business to the world. Kouen pays them little mind as he munches on his light lunch in between practices.
"Oh, you mean about Princess Hakuei's marriage arrangements?"
"Yes- the word is now that she might be married to Prince Kouen to unite the two lines and keep bad blood from stirring between the Emperor's children and those of his brother!"
That perks Kouen's ears, and he leans around the tree he took his lunch under to see the two gossips. A pair of eunuchs, ones he recognizes as his own father's harem keepers. Of course they would be all up on the marriage gossip.
"A good match if you ask me. The princess stands no chance at the throne, but it is a good showing for Koutoku's line."
"Oh yes, definitely. Especially with how well Prince Kouen has proved his worth to Kou!"
Princess Hakuei and him, eh? Kouen returns to his meal. She's certainly a lovely girl, though he can't admit to haven given her much thought before. It would be a high honor to be made even more a part of Hakuyuu's family as well. To call him a brother not only of arms, but of lineage as well? Kouen pops the last of his bun into his mouth. He would be elated.
As he picks up his sword and returns to his forms, Kouen loses himself to muscle memory and thought. Thrust, side-step, forwards, backwards... Hakuei is a smart girl, and he's seen her make a buffoon of Seishuu on horseback. She wouldn't be too terrible of a wife. He's sure she'd love to learn more about history, about Alma Torran and dungeons and war. They could probably talk. He trips a little over his feet, almost falls, but twists and recovers, turning it into a swirling attack. For all her skirts and finery and ladylike manners, Kouen knows that the princess sneaks sword lessons from Hakuren. She would appreciate-
"Nice move," Hakuei calls as she crosses the footbridge into Kouen's chosen practice grounds. Her younger brother, the youngest prince, huddles behind her skirts like a frightened duckling. "But if you watched your footwork better you wouldn't have that problem."
Kouen's face flushes red with embarassment. "Princess!" He fumbles his sword away. "I hadn't realized-" But Hakuei is laughing.
"Isn't that my brother's sword?"
"He gave it to me." Kouen's tongue is stupid in his mouth, and nothing but the tersest words can leave it. The princess doesn't take offense though.
"Is that the one your djinn inhabits now?"
"Yes."
When he doesn't go on, Hakuei comes closer. "Well, may I see?"
Kouen has a moment's thought that ladies have no business being exposed to such things, but it passes quickly. Hakuei's brothers are great heroes, her mother is the one who brought the magi to Kou. If any lady would understand such things, it would be her. He draws Astaroth from his sheath again and presents it to her. Hakuei leans over, inspecting the sword and its eight-pointed star. Her brother stays buried in her skirts but peeks at the sword under Hakuei's arm.
"So it's magic now?" Hakuryuu asks timidly.
Kouen nods. "It is. And I will use it to protect all of Kou." He carefully puts the blade away again and gets down on one knee to bow to the two of them. "And that goes doubly for you, Princess Hakuei. I swear that I will always keep you and all you hold dear safe." When he peeks up, Kouen gets to see Hakuei giggle, a girlish blush on her cheeks.
"Get up, Kouen, you look silly down there. Should you really go swearing oaths in your grubby practice clothes?"
"Well, I should think the lack of ostentatious clothes would make it more earnest," Kouen grumbles, feeling a bit foolish now. Perhaps wedding bells aren't so close in his future after all. Princesses have no understanding of things that lack ceremony.
Hakuei gives him a peck on the cheek. "Well, I must be on my way, but farewell for now!" She bustles away in a giggly swirl of skirts, Hakuryuu chasing after her. She pauses and glances back. "Maybe if you can learn to ask a lady things in a proper way, I will consider your proposal."
Kouen scoffs as he returned to his practice, but his cheeks still felt pleasantly warm.