Chapter Text
Years before this story took place, there was a new kingdom being formed; Aoba Johsai, also known as Seijoh. It was ruled by a king and queen who both originated from long, long lines of royalty, having many generations of kings and queens before them. There was, however, one problem. The kingdom was at war with the neighboring kingdom, and had been for multiple decennia. Most of the people in the kingdom could barely, if not not at all, remember a time before the war.
One day, the king and queen sat down with the king and queen of the neighboring kingdom for a meeting. They hadn’t started the war, had only been forced to take it over from their predecessors and continue it until one side won. They both were getting tired of the worsening state of both the kingdoms, and their soldiers and people were tired as well. It was a generally known thing that no one knew why the war still went on, but no one knew how to stop it.
They made a plan; the king and queen of Seijoh had a son, who was almost of age to take over his father’s crown. The other king and queen had a daughter, who was only slightly younger. They decided they would marry each other, in the hope they’d unite the kingdoms and finally be able to create peace. It would also put the kingdoms in a better financial and more powerful position, and since the other king and queen had been looking for a husband for their daughter anyway, it was decided.
Therefore, not much later, the newly married, new king and queen, Iwaizumi Arata and Chiyo, took over the throne and united the two kingdoms, keeping it under the name Seijoh since that was earlier the bigger kingdom. However, their marriage was not a happy one.
Their parents had loved the idea, but the young prince and princess not so much. They hadn’t wanted the marriage to take place at all, but what their parents wanted was something they couldn’t ignore, as they were the kings and queens at that time. They had both tried to object, but the former kings and queens had pushed through with the wedding anyway. In the end, they begrudgingly accepted, knowing that their marriage was possibly the only thing that could bring an end to the war.
Everyone was happy with the newfound piece the freshly coronated king and queen brought along, but the land was severely damaged and the economy was not in a very good place. Iwaizumi Arata and Chiyo saw this, and realized they were now responsible. Despite their hatred for each other, the two started to work together to help their kingdom back to the wealthy, healthy state it was in before the war started.
That was when things between Arata and Chiyo slowly started to change.
As king, Iwaizumi Arata had only seen his queen’s spirit in how much she liked to show her distaste of him, but now… He started to also find it in things like the way she was always participating as actively as she could in helping their land, their kingdom, their people. She even stopped actively hating him as much as she had before, as much as he knew she (deep, deep down) still did. All just to give their people a feeling of assurance; if they could get along and live in peace together, they all would. It gave people hope that the newfound peace would stay, that uniting the two kingdoms was a good idea, that there really finally was peace.
He quickly (but ever so hesitatingly) began to harbor feelings of admiration for Chiyo, more and more with all the effort she made to help their people. But, he told himself every night, it wasn’t real, it was all only an act. All only for the people, not at all because she really didn’t hate him anymore. He was convinced that would be impossible anyway. He already dreaded the day the people (and their parents) would start demanding offspring, a next in line for the throne.
What a pity, he sometimes allowed himself to think. But not out loud. Never out loud. He couldn’t. Never.
For the queen, a few things also began to change. She still strongly disliked the king, but after a few weeks she could no longer deny that he also was somewhat charming. At least, he had his charming points. She couldn’t give in too much. When she kept up her act of not hating him as much as she did, told herself she did, she could finally pay mind to other things again. Things other than why and how much he must also despise her.
And the other way around of course. Ahum.
Then she started noticing how the king would leave the castle more and more, with and sometimes even without guards. The last part, she knew because she’d seen him sneak out in a disguise with her own eyes. They didn’t share a room, she’d refused to, but some of her make-up was missing and when she saw Arata come down the hall with suddenly much lighter eyebrows and when she saw him come down the hall again, much more cautious, with a wig on, she knew for sure he must’ve wanted to get past the guards. That theory was confirmed when she saw him ride through the gates of the castle without any guards.
After a few times of letting it happen, it came to the point where he one time left (and stayed away) for three days, without telling her where he went and not making it seem like he was planning on doing so anytime soon.
She became more and more curious as time passed, but Arata still never said anything about leaving. Especially since he said to others it was for business, and trips around the kingdom for damage evaluation, but since she’d seen him leave multiple times in disguise, she didn’t really believe him.
He didn’t speak much to her at all, actually. Not that she minded, but he was still her husband. In the four months they’d been married, he’d been at the castle for maybe two of those months in total, with how much he was away. He still ruled the kingdom with her, but he kept leaving her alone in this for her foreign and unfamiliar castle in a part of the kingdom that was completely new to her, and didn’t seem to care or think about her at all.
When anyone asked, though, she would vehemently deny to everyone that she was definitely not jealous of whatever it was that took up so much of Arata’s time.
One day, she was done with his secrecy and asked him where he went every time he left, but, same as the advisors, she only got a vague answer about responsibilities in the kingdom, and that the king’s duty laid somewhere outside the castle. And, let’s not forget, a turned back.
While Chiyo was not at all afraid of the king having secret affairs or a relationship of any kind with another woman behind her back. She knew Arata valued his responsibilities as king too much to risk something like that; his role as example for the rest of the kingdom, his constantly calling duties that took too much time to throw away any more time for another woman…
She still did find it suspicious. If only he’d given her a good reason, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t given anyone a good reason. Only excuses. Very pitiful excuses, at that.
About a month later, nearing their 6-month anniversary (not that she was counting, the staff was. She didn’t even love him.) on a nice, warm day, Chiyo decided she’d waited long enough and followed him with a few guards disguised as stable workers. She couldn’t bear the secrecy and mystery anymore. She wasn’t a very patient person in the first place, and staying quiet for so long had worn her out.
So maybe they had never gotten married for love or even free will, and didn’t have any feelings for each other, they were now still betrothed to each other. He wasn’t just the king, he was also her husband, just like she was the queen to their kingdom. She was his responsibility as much as he was hers, and she found he should start living up to it.
Chiyo hadn’t really been expecting to see anything spectacular, hadn’t followed with a prejudice or feeling about what it could be that Arata was going to do so often, but what she saw was certainly not at all what she’d imagined. Or even could’ve come up with.
Arata was kneeling down in the middle of a herd of rowdy, small, dirty-looking children in the middle of a small village about an hour away from the castle. He was hugging them all, one for one, close to his chest, laughing with them, ignoring their grimy, dirty faces and worn-down, muddy clothes, probably not even noticing or not caring how it got his own clothes dirty as well.
He was handing out small packages to them after hugging all of them, patting their heads and talking with all of them. Chiyo assumed the packages were holding small life supplies like food, soap or money. Suddenly she felt like she was intruding. There was a big chance Arata didn’t even know these children personally, but the way he interacted with them felt so familiar, comforting. A bit private, despite all of it happening with more people watching. Chiyo supposed the other people were the children’s caretakers, since the children turned to them once Arata had stood up.
Chiyo didn’t really know what to do with herself as she watched Arata hug the caretakers and ruffle the children’s hair, giving a generous smile and warm hug to everyone, also handing out packages top the caretakers and other kids from the village that cautiously approached from the houses around the them.
The feeling of intruding wasn’t fully gone, but the moment did feel less private now. She finally snapped out of her daze and dared approach him further. He didn’t notice her at first, but when he did he completely stiffened up and turned bright red, immediately scrambling to get to her before she could even start to say something.
“I’m- I- I can explain!” he almost shouted out, and Chiyo had to do her best to hold back a laugh. She didn’t really understand why he was behaving so nervously, but she supposed it was cute. She ignored the looks they were getting from the people around them and put on a stern face.
“Please do explain, yes,” she said. “I’d like to know why you kept ditching me and our responsibilities and never telling me this was what you were doing.” Near the ending, she allowed a small smile and softened her voice.
“I really can explain, I’m so sorry- wait, what?” Arata stammered. “I- what do you mean?”
Chiyo smiled again. “I meant that if you had just told me, or anyone else for that matter, that this is what you were doing, I’m sure no one would’ve gotten suspicious and followed you out here.”
“You mean you got suspicious and followed me,” Arata said cynically. Chiyo just shrugged. Practically the same thing. It didn’t matter who it was, if it hadn’t been her who followed him she was sure one of his advisors would’ve done so at one point.
“Hm, I guess I did. But don’t be so pissy, it’s not like I’m going to scold you,” Chiyo scoffed. A small frown appeared on Arata’s face.
“I mean it, though. I’m sorry for leaving, but you shouldn’t’ve followed me. It’s not very safe yet on every road.”
“I had guards,” Chiyo simply said, motioning to the men still waiting patiently a few steps behind her.
She just barely caught Arata huffing out a “fine,” but didn’t let him continue.
“Why did you not tell anyone about what you’re doing, and what is it exactly you’re doing. Now.”
Arata scoffed. “Fine, woman. I’ve been travelling through the kingdom a bit, visiting some of the worse off towns and handing out care packages to the people on the streets and the orphanages.” Chiyo almost wanted to smile, but then Arata turned shyer again (and that pissed her off so she forced her smile back, purely out of spite). “I- I know it’s not much, but I couldn’t just- I couldn’t sit back and do nothing, just send money and watch them from inside the castle. I felt like I had to see it up close and offer comfort, other than just money and a ‘good luck’.”
Chiyo felt her heart swell, but she ignored it in favor of frowning and jabbing Arata in the side. Hard. “You baby, you shouldn’t apologize and get nervous about stuff like that. That’s a good thing, and any help is good, doesn’t matter if it’s a lot or just a little.” She looked around at the happy faces of the caretakers and the children, smiling and chatting with each other. “And,” she continued, “I think you’ve done plenty. Good job. You still should explain why you didn’t think it was okay or necessary to tell anyone else. I could’ve helped you.”
Arata didn’t look her in the eyes, but he did look less nervous after her words. He still had some explaining to do, though, and Chiyo waited patiently for it.
“I didn’t think you’d want to spend more time than necessary near me or with me, and I knew the advisors would just tell me they’d take care of things or send someone else to do these things, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to do it myself, show them some sympathy from the one who’s supposed to rule and be there from them, not just someone he sent to do it for him.”
Chiyo was silent for a while. She could understand where he was coming from, and believed him and why he had thought like that, but… Did he really think she’d even want to stay away from him if it was for a cause like this? She might not love him at all, but the strong feelings of hate she’d felt against him had gotten less intense over some time. Their marriage had taken some getting used to, but now that she was, it wasn’t that bad. As long as she could keep her distance at times she wanted it, she was fine.
“I don’t hate you that much, you know,” Chiyo then muttered. “It might seem like it, and I don’t like you at all, I don’t hate you so much I don’t want to help my people together with you. This kingdom, these people are my responsibility as much as they are yours.”
Arata looked relieved. “So… You’re not mad?”
“That’s what you worry about?” Chiyo scoffed. “I’m not mad at you, or about what you’ve done, I’m only a little mad you thought I wouldn’t want to help. And that you didn’t tell me anything. And that you stole my make up.”
At her last words, Arata completely froze. “U-um, I-”
“Save it,” Chiyo interrupted, holding a hand up. “You can’t lie to me, I saw it happen and I saw you leaving the gates with some wig. Where did you get that from, anyway? I don’t have any wigs.”
Arata just stayed frozen and answered almost robotically “I… got it custom made. So no one would know it was me. I didn’t want guards along, I don’t like it and I can fight, I wanted to do this on my own.”
Chiyo sighed. “Of course you would. But let’s just forget all that now, go back to the castle for now and pretend everything before this didn’t happen. We’ll start over with this project and do it properly this time.”
Arata still looked frozen, but a bit more relaxed than before already. “Okay- okay,” he sighed. “That sounds- okay.”
On the way back, Chiyo tried her hardest not to think about everything that had happened that afternoon. About how sweet Arata had looked with those children, about how noble and kind he was for even making all that effort, even bothering to do so much for the people. About how selfless he’d been about his own safety, wanting to do everything on his own. About his body, when she remembered how he’d straightened up when he told her he could fight. She believed it instantly.
But, she didn’t want to think like that. Because married or not, they were not into each other, they did not like each other, they were not interested in each other. They were supposed to be, probably, but Chiyo wasn’t all too sure if she wanted that. Not with Arata, and not just because they were officially married. Plus, Arata probably still hated her. Especially now that she followed him out here, exposed him and then proceeded to scold him even when he was only doing good things.
She swallowed. She supposed she did give him good reasons to hate her. She wasn’t sure if she was happy with that or not.
Next to her, Arata was getting lost in a very similar train of thought. His hate for Chiyo had long ago died down, about two months into their marriage. There was no other option than accept that he’d have to stay with her for the rest of their lives, and he started to look for positive traits and found that there were actually more positive than negative traits. For example, the burning passion she used to show her dislike was not only reserved for him, but also for her duties. It was admirable how much of herself she put into her work and how hard she worked for the things she wanted to be done.
Her face, that was always frowning when turned on him, was way softer and, if he had to admit it, gorgeous when looking at things that did make her happy, like the people of their kingdom and after a good fight.
Because yes, even that was something she was one of a kind in; her fighting talent and style. Not many women in the kingdom knew how to fight, and if they did it was nothing like her at all. Chiyo was fast, and strong, but slippery and incredibly hard to beat. In the beginning he’d found it annoying, felt like it was only another way for her to show her distaste of him on the times she did beat him, but after a while he grew to appreciate it. He admired a woman who could stand up for herself, who was strong and could hold her ground against him (or anyone else, really). Instead of being uncomfortable when she entered the dojo, he looked forward to their sparring sessions, looked forward to her fighting and her victorious expression when she managed to land or block a good hit. He started to crave those moments.
Before he knew it, he was admitting to himself that he’d started to like Chiyo. Who was already his wife. Which was really backward, but still felt wrong. Knowing that Chiyo wouldn’t like him back, saddened him more than he’d expected. They were already married, but it felt like it meant nothing if he was the only one who felt any attraction.
So deep in thought, Arata didn’t notice the small sideway glances Chiyo was shooting him. She hated to admit it, but she was getting worried. The ride back took a little bit over an hour, and they were about three quarters along, but Arata still hadn’t spoken a word. Usually, he wouldn’t shut up for more than a minute (Chiyo wasn’t so sure if she wanted him to be quiet now. It felt unnatural.).
She sighed deeply, once, twice, then turned to him and decided to indulge on her worries.
“Fine,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. Why was her body doing this? She was just being an ass again, while all she wanted was to know what was wrong. She didn’t blame him for disliking her…
“Fine, I’ll bite,” she said, friendlier this time. “What are you so caught up in, you’re unusually quiet.”
Arata startled, clearly snapped out of a daze. He blinked a few times, then started to blush slightly. “Um- Uh, I- nothing. Nothing, really. Just thinking.”
Chiyo rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, sure, and this is not suspicious at all. Wow, you’re so good at lying, cleared all my worries at once.”
Arata seemed to startle a bit again. It even looked like his blush was darkening, but Chiyo quickly told herself that was just her imagination. There was nothing for him to blush at.
“You- worried? Why were you worried?”
Oooh. Shit, she hadn’t meant to actually tell him that. “You should know, idiot. Usually you can’t shut up for a second and now you’re not saying a word. You’re a weirdo, but this is weird even for your standards.”
A small smile appeared on Arata’s face, and Chiyo forced back thoughts about how handsome he looked in that moment. It couldn’t mean anything anyway, so why bother thinking about it.
“Well- as I said, I was just thinking some things over. It doesn’t really matter for you, some… personal issues, you could say.”
Chiyo swallowed. In that moment, Arata’s features switched from soft to sad so quickly, she almost didn’t notice. With that sad, wistful look in his eyes, hidden by a cheerful smile, he suddenly looked so old, and Chiyo felt terrible. Whatever it was that made him sad like that, she wanted to take it away. Whatever it would take. She would do anything to never have him look at her with a look that sad ever again.
She stopped herself for a second. What was she thinking? She was his wife, but other than that… He still disliked her, she was sure of it. What other option was there? It had sucked for her as well, but she wouldn’t’ve become queen on her own anyway. If she didn’t marry, she could’ve stayed semi-free as a princess for the rest of her life. It sucked that she was forced to be a queen, but that was what she’d always wanted. She’d wanted to become queen, to have people to lead and rule and take care of. She realized no one had ever asked Arata if he wanted to become king. She herself hadn’t either. She’d just assumed this was all his idea, especially since he was being such an amazing king to their people. But he looked so old, so worn out like this.
What if he hadn’t wanted it at all, in the beginning? What if everything was just a façade, like he was trying to hold up now? What if it wasn’t him, but her who was tying the two of them down? What if he had a woman before her, one he wasn’t allowed to marry? That was common enough, for royals. What if she’d robbed him of his happiness? What if—
She wanted to be the one to make him happy.
It all made sense to her now. She liked Arata. She had hated to be his queen, done everything she could to make his time with her as miserable as possible. But she didn’t want that anymore. Somewhere along, she’d accepted her fate. And now she liked him.
She had to tell him. She had to. Chiyo wasn’t one to keep things and feelings inside, bottled up. This had crept up on her, happened so fast even she didn’t notice. Now it was bubbling inside of her, on the brink of bursting and flowing out and she didn’t want to keep this from Arata, it was about him, he deserved to know-
“You know, the thing I was worried about—Um, you probably won’t like it, but you’ve made it clear that you like cowards even less so I’m trying not to be, and I-” Arata suddenly said, interrupting her train of thought. Phew. That was very close. A bit too close.
“I like you, and I know that’s probably a thing that should happen before you marry but it happened now and I didn’t even know- that’s what I really needed to say. So.” Chiyo said, interrupting Arata in turn.
Oh. Well. Too close indeed. So close that it had slipped out after all.
“Oh,” Arata said, looking ahead at the castle coming closer and closer. “Well, that makes it a lot easier. I like you too.”
And how old he’d looked earlier, with the sad look in his eyes, was completely gone. Instead, he looked relieved and – overjoyed, and so young and happy and it reminded Chiyo that they were both only barely adults, that this was the time things needed to happen, that this was the chance for them to grow further into their roles as king and queen- but together, this time.
“Great,” she said airily as they rode through the gates. “Then let’s start over and date, and see where it goes.”
“I- that’s- Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.”
Chiyo knew what he wanted to say. It was risky. It was a whole other dimension. If this didn’t work out, there was no way they’d part on good terms, with her and Arata’s attitudes. If this didn’t work out, they were doomed to be unlucky for the rest of their lives. They both knew that. But, they also both knew this was an opportunity they couldn’t let go. If this did work out, it would change so many things for the best way possible.
They had to try.
***
In the first few weeks, not much changed. They were still critical on each other, still sometimes glared at each other, still snapped at each other. But, now it was laden with an air of softness. They knew it was meant well, meant to be supportive or joking. Their touches lingered, they shared soft smiles when no one was looking. They talked for hours in the attic with the pretty view, and after a few weeks they kissed for the first time in that same attic. Arata fell faster and faster, until he was completely gone. For Chiyo, it was a bit slower. It took her some time to get comfortable with the shared affection, took her some time to be able to also be affectionate towards Arata without completely shutting down. But Arata was so wonderful and patient, and not much changed, and slowly but surely she felt herself fall in love as well.
Years passed, until they were both 25 years old and they began discussing marrying again.
They both knew they’d approached it the wrong way, years ago, when they still hated each other. This time, they wanted to marry with just the two of them and a priest, fully by their own decision, out of mutual love and want to really, really be together.
And that’s exactly how it happened. It was a small, sweet affair, short and blunt, but so them. Even their own parents didn’t know of it.
That’s why they started bugging them about kids, only a year later. They were under the impression that their children had been happily married for almost seven years, and were wondering why there was no offspring yet. It was a normal thing to start with children two or three years into marriage, and in their opinion, it was long overdue.
That immediately stopped after a few weeks, when Chiyo announced to everyone (Arata as well), that she was pregnant. Arata almost passed out, and everyone was overjoyed. The second Arata realized what Chiyo was telling them, he hugged her close to him, not even trying to deny the tears that were rolling down his cheeks.
During her pregnancy, Arata didn’t let Chiyo out of his sight for more than a minute. He was non-stop nervous, and cautious. Despite not liking to be babied, Chiyo adored the attention and worry Arata was displaying so openly for their unborn child.
The kingdom was also overjoyed, glad to have seen their king and queen do so much good for the kingdom while becoming closer to each other as well. Everyone was delighted to hear a new prince or princess would be joining the royal family soon.
***
A few months later, a little boy was born. They had decided on a name almost at the beginning of Chiyo’s pregnancy, since it was a name Arata had loved for his whole life already. He had always hoped he’d have a son, so he could name him that. Luckily, Chiyo also loved the name, and so their baby boy was called Hajime. Iwaizumi Hajime, crown prince of Aoba Johsai. A boy who was only just born, but already had so many big responsibilities. Chiyo wasn’t worried. She had a feeling he’d do well.
And, as Chiyo expected, that he did. Hajime grew up fast, not the tallest but definitely strong, and adventurous, and with a huge sense of duty. He was responsible, though he took many risks. More often than not, he was outside, climbing trees and catching bugs. Most of those times, he came back with scraped knees and bloody palms, sometimes cuts over his cheeks and fingers. He was rowdy, but not too loud. He was rude sometimes, but never mean, and straight to the point. He knew what he wanted, and how he wanted it, and would give up anything to get it.
Arata sometimes joked he was too much like his mother for his own good.
Partially, that was true. He had his mother’s strong features, dark skin and hair and her green eyes, same as her attitude to people that disrespected her or challenged her. Same as her fighting spirit, her strong will and even stronger heart. Same as her talent for fighting and her strong stance, and her stubbornness. Yes, Hajime really took after his mother.
But, not entirely. He had inherited his father’s broad but somewhat shorter build and his unruly, spiky hair. He had the same kind heart as his father, and the responsibility that came with it. He cared about people and noticed things many other people wouldn’t notice.
Iwaizumi Hajime would truly make a very good king later.
Even though right now, he was only five years old.
***
Iwaizumi Hajime was just exploring the stables, when he heard two young voices shout something after him.
“Oi! Oy, you! Who are you?”
“Yeah, you! What are you doing here?”
Iwaizumi gritted his teeth. Were they challenging him? Were they calling him out? He swiveled around with an angry frown on his face, looking for the culprits. It seemed to be the two tall boys that looked to be around his age, who were leaning against the door posts of the main entrance. They were dressed casually, and since they looked like they were allowed to be in here, Iwaizumi assumed they were the children of stable workers. They both had slightly drooping eyes, one with curly black hair and one with short, light, strawberry blond hair. In this lighting it almost looked pink?
Iwaizumi chose not to dwell on that and stalked towards the boys. Damn it, they were taller than him.
“Were you two born here?” he asked. Damn it, that wasn’t what he’d wanted to say. Ah well, this worked too. Maybe he was older than them, and then he’d be superior in two of three aspects and definitely win.
“Yep, we’re both six,” the tallest with the curly hair drawled. Iwaizumi gritted his teeth again. Damn it.
“Hm. Well, I turn six in two weeks,” he then huffed out, to let them know the difference wasn’t big. Maybe it’d feel a bit less like losing then…?
“Hm. I turned six in January, and he in March. So, we’re older and taller,” the boy with the pink(?) hair said. “Now, tell me why you’re here. Who are you even?”
Iwaizumi huffed. They were being rude to him. Right? Momma usually wasn’t very clear on what was rude or not, but he was sure dad would count this as rude. They were being rude to him.
Iwaizumi didn’t like that.
“You’re being rude to me. I don’t like that. Shut up.”
The boy with curly hair raised his (impressive) eyebrows. “What? We’re not rude. We’re just asking you a question. Answer it.”
“Don’t command me!” Iwaizumi seethed. “You probably aren’t allowed to anyway!”
The boys looked at each other. “What- what are you talking about? We’re not allowed to command anyone. We’re stableworkers, and we literally just told you we’re six years old. In what world are six-year old servants allowed to order anyone around?”
“Well if you say it like that,” Iwaizumi murmured, already feeling less mad. He was right, after all. They were servants, and probably born as that. ”Were you two born here?”
As the two nodded, more of Iwaizumi’s earlier guesses were confirmed. He nodded back, satisfied with himself. “Me too, in the palace,” he told them. He hadn’t met anyone of his age yet, and these two were. If he could befriend them… He didn’t want to grow up alone!
“In the palace?” the tallest boy asked. The two shot each other quick looks. “Are you… one of the personal servants?”
“No,” Iwaizumi said in the friendly tone his dad had taught him to use around the officials. ‘It makes you sound a bit more proper and a bit less like your mom when she’s fighting,’ he’d said. Iwaizumi hadn’t really cared about it, and used it when needed. His dad had seemed very glad about that, so that was good. He guessed.
The boys looked at each other again. “Then- who are you?”
“Iwaizumi Hajime, nice to meet you,” Iwaizumi said. They had been kind of rude, but they didn’t know who he was. He didn’t like it when people were rude to him, but he couldn’t say he disliked not being treated like a fragile peace of china for once. Even though it wasn’t intentional. “And what are your names?”
The boys looked at him in shock, then at each other, then back at Iwaizumi.
“Of course we’d piss off the prince,” the pink-haired one groaned, immediately followed by a “with our stupid luck,” from the curly haired one.
Iwaizumi frowned. “I’m not gonna snitch or anything, don’t worry. What are your names?”
The boys, contrary to their lazy and teasing demeanors of before, now looked a bit nervous. Iwaizumi decided he like that even less than when they were rude to him. Why were people always so nervous around him? Yes, of course, he was the next in line for the throne and he’d be the king later, when he was of age, but that didn’t make him a scary, bad person, right?
The pink haired boy coughed and elbowed the other. “Um- I’m Hanamaki. Hanamaki Takahiro.”
“Matsukawa Issei,“ the other quickly followed.
“Nice to meet you!” Iwaizumi said, smiling. “Sorry I called you rude, do you have anything to do right now?”
“Um- sorry we… Sorry we were rude, and not really, I think? Our parents said we’re too young to do the same tasks as them so we don’t really do anything.” Matsukawa said.
Iwaizumi thought about that for a few seconds. “You don’t- you don’t go to school or anything? Or learn from someone?”
“The older kids do, but they said we’re too stupid,” Hanamaki drawled. He didn’t look too hurt by it, but Iwaizumi already felt himself getting mad.
“Why would they say that, that’s mean. You’re six right, you should be able to go to school right?!”
They shrugged. “There are only so many seats and books, and the stuff they learn is too hard for us right now.”
Iwaizumi frowned, then thought of something. “Why don’t you just join my lessons, then? I just started, and I’m all alone!”
In just a second, the two looked nervous again. Shaking their heads, they said “no, no, we could never do that! You’re the prince, right?” Iwaizumi nodded. “Then we could never do those things with you, don’t you know that? Mom always told us the servants and the king and queen and- and you should keep our distance. We can’t do that!”
Iwaizumi’s frown grew deeper and he tilted his head, not really understanding it. “Who said that? I don’t have any friends right now, and I wouldn’t mind being friends with servants. What’s so wrong about being a servant, anyway? You have a job, then that’s good, right?”
“Status differences,” Matsukawa mumbled, “or at least, that’s what mom said. We’re too- too low to be around the people with a high status.”
Iwaizumi didn’t like how that sounded. At all. Status differences? What even was that supposed to mean? He didn’t push further, and left the stables.
That evening, when his mom was tucking him in, he asked her. “What are status differences, momma?”
“Who told you about that?” she asked him, drawing back a little to properly look him in the face.
“Two stable boys I met today. They were only sliiiightly older than me but they said they couldn’t play with me because of status differences.”
“Hmm, yes. I don’t like it either, Haji, but it’s protocol between the servants and us. Someone once thought that servants shouldn’t mingle with royals like us, and for some reason that stayed. They serve us, they shouldn’t serve with us.”
She trailed off, looking out of his window to the wing of the where their servants lived.
“I don’t like it,” Hajime blurted out. “I wanted to be friends with them. They were rude to me in the beginning but I liked them.”
Mom turned back to him, smiling warmly. “I know, I know sweetie. That’s good. You’re a good kid. You can be friends with them, I promise, if they want that too. You can tell them your momma said she didn’t give a shit either.” She paused. “Best don’t use that phrase, but you know what I mean. I think the person who made that rule forgot that the king and queen are serving the kingdom as well.”
“What does that mean?”
“Isn’t it like that? Y’know, Haji, I think me and dad are servants as well, only not for just one person, and with a fancy title. We help everyone in the kingdom, right? We want to take care of everyone, so aren’t we just serving them in return?”
Blinking tiredly, Hajime thought it over a few times. “Yeah,” he then said, feeling a yawn come up. “Yeah, that’s right. We’re no better.”
“Good boy,” mom said, smiling again. “Please remember that, and you’ll be a great king yourself later.”
“That’s gonna take a whooole long time, momma,” Hajime laughed, slowly falling deeper and deeper asleep.
“I know, I know. Take your time,” mom laughed. She kissed him on his forehead. “Good night, little fighter. Love you.”
Hajime crinkled his nose. “You- alw- call m’that. Love you momma.”
Then he was asleep.
***
He didn’t see the boys for a few days, and he told himself not to mind it. After all, before this, he didn’t meet them once in five years. Still, Iwaizumi was disappointed. Maybe they had already forgotten all about him, who knew?
On the fourth day, he spotted Matsukawa with an older woman – his mother?- and in the evening of the fifth day he saw Hanamaki and Matsukawa wander around the stables. As soon as they saw him approach, though, they quickly turned their heads and walked the other way. Iwaizumi didn’t go after them, but it stung. Had he done anything wrong? Had he scared them off, or did they just really not want to be his friends?
After a week had passed, Iwaizumi started to get impatient. If they really didn’t want to play with him, they should just say so, instead of avoiding him and leaving him to run after them and make guesses on why they kept looking the other way! He sometimes saw them together, and instead of angry, it only made him feel sad. Mom had told him to wait a little, but he’d already waited a whole week! A week was a long time, right?!
So, he decided, next time he saw them, he would not let them ignore him again. If they weren’t going to play with him, he at least wanted them to tell him that, instead of running away every time.
So, the next time he spotted the two taller boys, he didn’t take his eyes off them and quickly made his way towards them. Before they could run, he had already reached them, panting loudly from running as hard as he could, all the way.
“Wait!” he yelled. “Why do you keep avoiding me?”
Matsukawa and Hanamaki shot each other nervous looks. “You- you probably shouldn’t be here,” Hanamaki said, already looking for a way to get away again.
“I don’t understand, is it that you don’t want to play with me? ‘Cause if that’s it, just tell me.”
“I- we…” Hanamaki tried. “It’s not that. We only have each other and- another friend would be nice, but we’re..”
“I know you’re servants’ children and I don’t care. Momma said it doesn’t matter, too.”
“You mean- the queen said it doesn’t matter?” Matsukawa asked.
Iwaizumi shook his head. “No, she said someone made those rules a long time ago and they’re stupid. And I can still play with you. If you want to. I- I don’t want to force you, so if you don’t want to you should tell me now.”
They looked at each other again. “I think,” Hanamaki started, a smile breaking out on his face, “I think that if the queen said it doesn’t matter, mom will allow it. If the queen said so… then it’s okay!” Matsukawa nodded, and a smile broke out on Iwaizumi’s face. They also wanted to play with him!
Did this mean he’d just made… friends? His first friends? Iwaizumi didn’t think he’d ever felt this happy. Friends! Kids he could play with when he was bored!
But wait- they still didn’t have lessons.
“Did- do you want to join my lessons from now on, then? It’ll be a lot less boring with someone else there!”
Matsukawa’s smile grew, now as big as Hanamaki’s and Iwaizumi’s own smiles. “Are you sure we could do that? Isn’t that too much? We- can we do that?”
Iwaizumi shrugged. “It’s my teacher. I take those lessons alone, and they’re really cool but super boring. So it’ll be a double favor! You’re making it less boring for me and you’ll get lessons!”
“So cool,” Matsukawa gushed quietly.
Hanamaki snickered. “Of course that’s the part you get excited about, nerd.”
“You’re excited to learn too, Hiro, and you know it!”
“Oh, right!” Hanamaki said, turning back to Iwaizumi. “Now we’re friends you can call me Hiro, if you want. I mean- it’s what he calls me, and he’s my friend, so if you’re my friend you can call me that too.”
Iwaizumi felt like he was floating. Friends! Nicknames, first names! He couldn’t believe this was happening, he was so happy. “Great! Then you can call me Hajime! Or Haji, that’s what momma calls me.”
“Wow,” Hiro whispered. “You hear that Issei? We can call the prince Haji!”
Iwaizumi laughed. “It’s not that special, y’know. I don’t think momma ever called me by my full name. Do you think she forgot?”
Hanamaki and Matsukawa- no, Hiro and Issei- muffled laughter behind their hands. “Haji, she’s- she’s the queen! You can’t just say that!”
“Nah,” Iwaizumi said, shrugging. “She’s really just momma.”
It was silent for a while. “Cool,” Issei then said. “C’mon, Hajime, d’you like the horses?”
“I love horses! You guys are going to work in the stables later?” Iwaizumi asked.
Hanamaki nodded. “It’s either that or in the gardens. They’re nice, but it’s too hard work and the plants don’t even do anything back. You can at least play with the horses, or ride them and stuff. Better than plants.”
Iwaizumi agreed wholeheartedly. “I agree, horses are really cool. I’m so jealous you will get to be with them all the time later…”
“But you’ll be king, you could do anything, right?” Hanamaki asked.
Iwaizumi shook his head. “Daddy is king, but he’s often really busy. Momma just makes up a lot of excuses to stay with me during the day. Dad is often only with us on the evenings.”
He saw Hiro and Issei were looking at him with pity, and he quickly smiled at them. “It’s okay though! It doesn’t matter, really. Dad’s really nice and he tries to be with us as much as often, and sometimes he’s too busy, but when he’s free he always plays with me and momma and momma always puts me to bed so it’s not bad.”
“My mom always puts me to bed too, when she’s done with work,” Hanamaki mentions. “She’s with the cooks and sometimes she can take snacks along if they made too much.”
“Dad always puts me to bed ‘cause my mom works in the village and my dad is really fast so he can always leave earlier than the other stable workers,” Matsukawa said proudly.
“Your dad’s in the stables? That’s so cool! Can we go there now?” Iwaizumi asked.
“Why not?” Matsukawa replied, shrugging his shoulders once. “Oh! It’s almost feeding time, maybe we can help them! I sometimes get to help dad and he lets me pet the foals, they’re really cute.”
Excited, the three started on their trip to the stables, where the horses of the royal family and advisors were kept. The foals that were raised were foals of the horses themselves, and would later be trained to be the horses of children of members of the royal family or advisors. Sometimes, they were sold if there were too many and it was a particularly big or sturdy foal. Then, they were transferred and often trained to be the horses of knights, or even sometimes to race, if they were smaller.
Iwaizumi hoped he’d get a horse of his own one day. He could almost see himself ride a big, strong one, in the fields. He hoped he’d get a fast one. Or a really cool one, so he could out-race everyone else.
When they finally reached the stables, Iwaizumi was shocked to see who was inside. After all, his father had been away for three days and wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow. Was he going to leave again, or was he maybe back early?
Iwaizumi didn’t even notice the tall, broad stable worker standing next to his dad’s horse. He didn’t notice the way his eyes widened, and his expression quickly turned from shock, to rage, to embarrassment and shame, as well as guilt. He also didn’t notice the boys beside him stiffen, shrink back and look to the ground in a mixture of awe, shame and fear. No, he only saw his dad. He was back!
“Dad!” Iwaizumi exclaimed, running towards him. At the exclamation, he turned around and as soon as he saw his son running towards him, a big smile grew on his face. Iwaizumi Arata crouched down and opened his arms just in time for Hajime to run straight into them and hug his father tightly to him. “Daddy, I missed you!”
“Missed you too, my little fighter. Guess what, I’m back early!” Arata said happily, squeezing his son once more before standing back up. “Matsukawa, could you take care of my horse? I’d like to go greet my wife and be with my family for a little while.”
The man, who Iwaizumi only noticed now, nodded. Matsukawa? Then this must be Issei’s dad, Iwaizumi thought excitedly.
That excitement quickly diminished when he noticed the grim expression on the face of the man. A worried feeling crept up on Iwaizumi, and that only grew when he looked at his two new friends. They looked… almost sad? At least not very happy, and having seen them smile and talk happily just minutes ago, Iwaizumi decided he did not like that look on them at all. Something was wrong, and he wanted to fix it.
“Issei, Takahiro. I thought we set a few rules, and they were not very hard. You didn’t listen, both of you, to the most important rule; stay away from the prince. I get that you’d want to be friends, but you are both not in the position, so why did you go and talk with his Highness anyway?” Iwaizumi heard the older Matsukawa mumble. He sounded angry, and his words pissed Iwaizumi off. It sounded like he thought Issei and Hiro were lower than him, just because he was a prince and they were servants.
A frown settled between his eyebrows, and he was about to step forward to clear it up. He wanted to yell at the man, tell him it wasn’t their fault. He’d been lonely, he had convinced them to play with him. His momma had said it was alright, so why was Matsukawa’s dad so mad about it?
A revelation struck Iwaizumi like lightning. He didn’t know momma had said that it was okay! Iwaizumi had only told Issei and Hiro, after all. He turned to his dad.
“Daddy, is he mad ‘cause I’m a prince? I asked momma, and she said it was fine for me to be their friend. Oh, and she also said it was a stupid rule and that the distance between servants and us is also stupid!”
“Did she say it with those words exactly?” Arata asked. He knew very well how his wife got over issues like this, and he was furiously praying she didn’t curse in front of their son about it.
Iwaizumi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, I don’t remember. Can you please do something about it? ‘Cause I want to be friends with Issei and Hiro, and they can learn with me!”
Arata thought it over. He knew how lonely Hajime could get on the rainy days, where the servants and his teacher usually forced him to stay inside, and he doubted it would be bad for him to have a few friends of his age.
And so, he addressed Matsukawa. “There seems to be an issue, Matsukawa, but don’t worry. My wife and I have both given full permission for interactions between the servants and us. We both have the opinion that the law is outdated, and we think it would be great for Hajime to have some friends close to his age. If your boys also want to be his friend, of course.”
The older Matsukawa looked conflicted. He wasn’t used to this. Usually, the royals and advisors just gave him his orders, and he did his job, and they let him be, but it seemed the new king was keen on changing that.
He couldn’t say it sounded like a bad idea.
“Fine,” he finally decided, giving in to his king and the three pairs of puppy eyes focused on him. It wasn’t like he could deny the order of his king, but this wasn’t an order, and if it was something all three boys really wanted… What kind of father (and non-biological Uncle, of Takahiro) would he be to deny them of something as pure and innocent as friendship?
At the agreement, the three boys let out a loud cheer. Arata smiled. “I know this is not at all like the usual for you, but I genuinely think it would be good to get at least some of that awful formal distance out of the way. There’s no need for that, and I intend to stay on good terms with the people who take care of my family when I can’t.”
Matsukawa couldn’t stop a small smile of his own, at that. after all, of course it was that simple. The servants took care of everything the king and queen couldn’t look after, and in turn they received a home, food and money from them. That was just a general business relationship, right?
Well, not really, but-
“I can see you’re overthinking it,” the king said, laughing heartily, “there’s no need for that. Go take care of my horse and let the boy play together, it’s all fine.” Then he walked back with a guard, who’d waited at the doors of the stables, back towards his family’s wing of the castle.
“You- your Highness- No, I- Well, you heard him. Go play!” the older Matsukawa stammered. Issei beamed up at him.
“Thanks dad!” he exclaimed, and then the boys went running.
A few weeks later, after Hajime’s sixth birthday had passed, Takahiro and Issei joined Hajime for their first lesson. They had quite a few struggles in the beginning, since they had only managed to learn a few letters on the off chances they were allowed in the servant’s lessons. But, in a few months’ time, they were all caught up with Hajime, who, to be honest, had never gotten very far with studying either. He rather played outside, chasing insects and climbing trees than study in a stuffy room with a teacher who only told him about his future responsibilities.
A few months later, just after the new year, Takahiro and Issei knew more than any of the other servant children their age, having the ability to learn much faster. They were only in a class with three people, after all.
Hajime didn’t make friends with any of the other servants. He was content with Issei and Takahiro, and seeing how close the two were and how close Hajime had gotten to them over the time they were friends, it felt wrong to add another person to their little group.
Then, Takahiro turned seven. He teased Issei and Hajime nonstop with their age, pestering them about being just babies and making jokes like “When I was your age…”
Hajime was almost scared to see how he would grow up. He knew it was a kind of egocentric thought, but he hoped with all his heart that someone else would be the victim of the pranks and jokes he was bound to pull.
The teasing only got worse when Issei’s birthday passed. After all, Hajime wasn’t only the youngest by over three months, but also the smallest. At Issei’s birthday, the height difference was 5 centimeters with both Issei and Takahiro, and Hajime was afraid that wasn’t going to get any smaller either. If anything, only bigger. After all, his parents both weren’t that tall either, both never growing taller than 180 centimeters. Hajime doubted he’d get any taller than that, too.
When Hajime finally joined Issei and Takahiro as a seven-year old, it was summer, and the insects were out again. Thanks to the studying, Hajime hadn’t gotten to hunt many, last year. He was set on taking Issei and Takahiro with him.
Here, he thought triumphantically, here he could at least beat them. He knew Issei and Takahiro had grown up like him, always playing around outside and climbing one of the big trees that grew around the garden his parents loved so much. Whenever they went there, Hajime joined them. There were good trees to climb in inside the garden, but there was a part that was too far away from the castle for the servants to keep an eye on, so without his parents he wasn’t allowed there. Coincidentally, that was also the part of the garden where the highest trees grew. He’d climbed them before.
Issei and Takahiro hadn’t. And these trees were far higher than the others in the garden. Also, this were the trees were the prettiest butterflies and the largest beetles lived.
Issei and Takahiro didn’t know that.
Hajime was sure to win this.
And win, he did. Issei and Takahiro were still sometimes under the impression that Hajime was raised in a very guarded environment, but actually he didn’t grow up much different from them. He got more education, he was taught how to be proper and polite and he sometimes had to attend official banquets with his parents, but other than that Hajime had grown up just like any other boy in the village.
Also, they thought that because they were taller, they’d be better at climbing trees, but Hajime proved to be a lot faster than them. They didn’t differ that much, but Hajime was still smaller and thus faster. He was also stronger, more athletic. Issei and Takahiro both had a lanky feel to them, Hajime was way sturdier. And to top it all off, in the years Hajime had been actively hunting and collecting beetles and other insects, he’d learned the best places to find them, and he easily found the biggest insects there were in the garden.
Issei and Takahiro were better than Hajime in a lot of other things, though, not counting age and height. They learned a lot easier than Hajime, so with their lessons they usually remembered the material a lot better. Hajime wasn’t good at sitting still. He liked his stuff hands on, not inside in a stuffy room with stuffy books and a stuffy teacher.
Hajime was young when he was taught how to be proper and polite, but he was truly too much like his mother to really pay a lot of attention to that. he tried! He really, honestly tried his best, but, same as his mother, he sometimes slipped up. contrary to that, Issei and Takahiro had learned the basic etiquette rules in a few weeks. Hajime had been allowed to invite them along for a party that wasn’t very important, his mom said, and he’d get bored otherwise.
Issei and Takahiro, despite never having been in company as high in status before, somehow managed to seem like angels. Daily, they were sneaky, played pranks on everyone and make bad jokes only they (and about half of the time Hajime as well) could understand, and he’d heard mom call them ‘little shits’ before, but at the party they were dressed up as neatly as Hajime, spoke with two words, didn’t play any pranks….
They did watch everyone very closely, though. Many, many new inside jokes followed that day. Hajime could only agree.
And like that, the years passed, and they grew up quite peacefully together.
At least, that was until Hajime’s 10th birthday, when he had to start with his lessons about the history of both kingdoms, and how he should apply that history to the present. What the history meant for the state the kingdom was in now. What that history and this present would mean for Hajime’s future, and the future of the kingdom.
The future in which Hajime would be king, and Takahiro and Issei would have to go back to being his servants.
Hajime furiously promised them he’d never forget them, or anything about them, every day. Takahiro was a bit skeptical in the beginning, but Issei had convinced him that this, all of this, was worth it. They’d stay friends, or at least try their hardest to do that.
They managed perfectly for two more years. Then, at Hajime’s 12th birthday, he met the foal that would be trained from then on. For Hajime. His horse.
The horse his best friends would have to take care of for him in the future.
Takahiro turned distant again. This time, it took more effort to convince him, and Hajime actually didn’t see or speak with him for several weeks. He didn’t even show up for their lessons, which was something he would usually never skip. Takahiro pretended he didn’t, but Hajime knew he loved to learn. To have Takahiro feel as bad as to even abandon his lessons, and Issei along with him, hurt Hajime a lot more than the actual silence.
Hajime decided to leave them to think about the matter for a while. This wasn’t something he could change, and they needed to fully realize that. Hajime couldn’t say he liked it, and he terribly missed the two boys’ presences as permanent fixture in the castle, but he realized he would also have to deal with that. If Hajime’s title put them off, he’d have to accept that he couldn’t force them to be his friends still. He’d have to wait until (if) they came around.
Hajime had never had great patience.
Luckily, after those few weeks, knocking sounded on his bedroom door. When he opened it, Takahiro and Issei immediately came barreling inside and hugged him. They usually didn’t show affection that much, and Hajime appreciated the gesture.
They were sorry for leaving him for so long, and they still wanted to be friends. They also promised each other, also Hajime, that if something like this came up again, they’d still stay friends. They knew they all wanted it. They all knew it was possible.
And so, the three stayed together, as inseparable as they’d been when their friendship started, years before.