Second Crown

Only half-proofread, I'll fix any typo when I'm home!

Hyukjae is – for lack of a better word – completely astounded.

And certainly not in the best sense of the term.

Paralyzed, he stiffly stands there, in the middle of a deafeningly silent ballroom and in front of the Crown Prince, whose face has turned so red it is almost of the same color as his red diamond jewel. The latter meets his eyes for a fraction of second and furiously blushes again, before he takes a small step back. He fiddles a little with his own blue gemstone and runs a trembling finger across the sparkly tanzanite, while a crooked tooth shyly bites onto his lower lip. Hyukjae cannot help but stare at it for a moment, before he hastily wills himself to look away.

“Uh –…” he starts dumbly, but Kangin promptly stomps on his foot before he can utter anything else.

A strangled yelp of pain almost flows out of his mouth, jaw clenched painfully as he does his best not to curse his tutor out loud. The man was such a brute. Coprolithe! Crétin des Alpes!

The whole court is intently staring at the two men, forming an alarming circle around them. Some look blatantly curious and others as shocked as he is, while the rest seem a little disappointed – of what, he would rather not know at all.

The brunet then hurries to look around for his parents, worryingly expecting of them to be the only ones furious of the lot. But, as he finally finds them, standing only a few meters away from him and the Crown Prince, he is properly baffled to see his mother looking so delighted it is almost destabilizing. A spark of sheer excitation is brightly shining within her wide eyes, meanwhile she has delicately covered to stifle what he suspects to be squeals of happiness. Next to her, his father blinks in slight wonder, although it is the kind that seem to be more curious rather than disappointed.

Hyukjae almost wishes he would have yelled at him instead.

What in the world have I done again?

The young man then turns around towards the Crown Prince once again, desperately wanting to take his accidental – accidental! – marriage proposal back as soon as it is humanly possible. But, before he has the chance to utter any word at all, the other elegantly drops his head down in a sort of bashfulness he would never have expected from such a high figure of the Solemnéean Royalty.

“If you will excuse me, Sir,” the Prince quietly utters a moment afterwards.

His hands slowly go to clasp together in front of him, meanwhile he humbly straightens up to catch his gaze again, this time for exactly three short seconds – Hyukjae knows, because he couldn’t help but count the length of time they stared at each other, and all the other courtiers of the room suddenly started to gasp and whisper and mumble under their breath as soon as his mind had reached the number of three. Something very uncomfortable tells him it surely has something to do with all the complex customs and traditions he has so vehemently refused to learn up until now.  

And, oh! How you should have done so! an admonishing voice that suspiciously sounds like his tutor’s whispers in his head.

The Crown Prince doesn’t wait for a response, which probably means he has already given him one through his stiff silence, or that he simply doesn’t need any. He turns around and slowly heads back towards the doors from where he has originally stepped in the ballroom, chin held high and back as straight as an arrow, although his steps are a little shaky and confused. The two officers of the Royal Guard straighten up as soon as he walks by them and brandish their ceremonial spears again, before the Highest Officer hurries to announce the departure of ‘His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Donghae, Second Son of the Most Godly and Royal House of Lee’s, from the Kingdom of Solemnée, named Aiden by the Gods!’.

This time, Hyukjae doesn’t have the heart to laugh – not at all.

*

“You,” Kyuhyun states loudly as they nearly run back to their carriage. “Are the biggest idiot I’ve ever met in my whole life! And I’ve met thousands of people!”

Hyukjae hisses at him and hurries to climb inside the cart, avoiding his tutor’s piercing glare at all costs. He does his best to sit as far away from him as possible, and forces his brother to sit next to him before the older man can do so.

“Ferme-la!” he tells him off in Eletyrhian. “I didn’t know it would turn out like this!”

“Well, you should have known!” the other insists as they finally start moving. “You ing proposed to the Crown Prince of our Kingdom the first night you’ve met him! Bon sang, it’s the first time we’re actually back in the ing country!”

I know that, Hyukjae wants to yell hysterically. I ing know that already!

*

The two men’s father wearily settles down into his armchair as soon as they reach the main rooms of their own castle, looking both exhausted and horribly amused by the whole situation; Hyukjae would have been, too, in other, completely different circumstances. Their mother soon joins her husband and sits on a nearby sofa, looking as elegant and beautiful as ever, while she lets an excited little smile pull at the corners of . His younger brother goes to join her, lips pressed into a tight, quivering line to refrain from laughing, which leaves him and his tutor to be the only ones standing.

“Well, I certainly didn’t expect this to happen tonight,” the eldest of the house finally says after a long while. “You never fail to surprise me, Hyukjae.”

The latter winces, and then pointedly looks away when amused eyes similar to his own fix themselves upon him.

“I am still a bit surprised you didn’t know about such customs and traditions, really,” he muses afterwards, thoughtfully cocking his head to the side. “Considering what it implies and the consequences it will have on your life.”

His private tutor takes this opportunity to step forward, and stops just behind him in a sign of respect.

“It is entirely my fault, Your Grace,” he states and lowly bows down before his parents. “I should have made sure he knew his lessons by heart before allowing us to attend the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration; I should have taught him better. I will accept any kind of punishment.”

“My, my,” his mother laughs lightly and dismisses his apology with a small flick of the hand. “It is nothing to be sorry of, dear; the night would never have been as amusing otherwise, after all.”

Kangin mutters his gratitude and bows again, meanwhile Hyukjae starts squirming uncomfortably. The mood of their conversations is way too light to his liking; this is an emergency of the utmost importance, and they need to find a solution right now.

“Shouldn’t I ago and apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?” he finally asks, only a tiny part of his mind still finding a bit of humor in the obnoxious title of royalty. “Shouldn’t I cancel the marriage proposal as soon as possible, and before he takes it seriously?”

“Oh, dear Gods and stars, no!” his father exclaims with wide eyes, as though the mere thought of it is absolutely absurd – Hyukjae really doesn’t think it is. “You will do nothing of the sort, Son! First of all, because withdrawing would be seen as an outrage towards the Royal Family, and most especially towards our Crown Prince; and, secondly, because His Royal Highness ha