forum The Captive Prince (o/o) closed

Started August 12, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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Fiori imagined having to wear a jacket- or even a shirt- during festival season and found he couldn't. "It is made for mobility. We are a society of warriors, remember? We need to be able to fight, to move."

Levi’s thoughts returned to his society, and then to his brother. “Yes, I recall. And that makes sense. My society is generally one of peace, but my brother is a warrior. He talked about mobility and the inconveniences of our everyday outfits quite often. Now that I think about it, I think he would be more comfortable here than in Nord Widona. The problem is, he despises you.”

The ending of Levi's story startled a laugh out of him and he had to press his smile into his hand to stifle the undignified snort. "Oh I'm sure he does. Most Widonians do. I met one of your princes in battle once, and he called me a demon to my face." He shook his head, thinking of the memory with a tad too much fondness. The little warrior prince had been fierce. Fi had almost been bested by him. "I think I left a scar on his face, right up across his left cheek."

Levi laughed at that, but was taken aback by the story. That was probably his brother who had fought Fiori. No, it had to be his brother. Not only did Johan have a scar on his right cheek, but his other brother was much too young to be a warrior. And the fiery temper seemed about right. “That…that sounds like my prince.” His words were interrupted by short bouts of chuckling.

Fiori smiled when Levi laughed, stifling a few snickers of his own. "Yes, I quite admired him. He's the only enemy I've ever fought to have left a scar on me." His voice was tinged with admiration. "I would be quite happy to cross swords with him again, I think. He's a wonderful fighter. A bit of a shit, but dedicated to his craft."

“Wow…” he let his laughter drift away, but his smile stayed ever-present while they talked about his brother. Setting aside the betrayal for now, he did have fond memories with him, especially when they were much younger. Johan was always a better fighter—and more of a shit—than Levi, but that had never bothered him. “Where did he leave the scar?”

Fiori's laugh drifted away and his smile flattened slightly, but he turned around and reached over to touch the back of his left shoulder. There was a thick, pale slice of scar tissue that went down about six inches past his fingers. "He got me while my back was turned. My sword caught him across the cheek when I struck back, and I left him for dead."

“Oh…” he softly cursed as his smile dissipated and his eyes traced over the scar. He remembered the day his brother returned, with a half healed cut on his face along with other wounds. “Well, he didn’t die. He returned to the kingdom at the end of his tour.”

Fi held himself proudly, even though every part of him wanted to curl up and hide from Levi's gaze. He could feel it like a physical thing, itching across his scar. "A good thing, I think. His country needs a warrior. The one who was set to rule was so sheltered, and the other was far too young to even covet the throne."

Levi looked up again once he was done looking at the scar. It was impressive, yet strange seeing what damage his little brother could do.
Levi’s eyes widened when he mentioned the one set to rule. His lip twitched into an awkward smile, which he stifled with a flat expression. “Sheltered a bit, yes, but I think he’ll still be a good ruler. He may even agree with you if you seek a peace treaty when you’re king.”

Fiori didn't toss on a shirt, but he pulled on a pair of dry pants and turned to face Levi again. "I don't disagree. He seemed… very regal." It wasn't the right word, but Fiori knew he couldn't convey what he wanted to say even in his own language. "I think he would grow into a great king, but not fast enough. Not while the war still rages."

“Hm…” he considered, struggling what to say. How could he talk about himself without giving up his identity? “He is young, too. Even if the current ruler dies, he won’t be able to be officially coronated or take full responsibility as king until he’s twenty-two years of age. Hopefully the war dwindles down before then.”

Fiori nodded, considering Levi's points. "I suppose, but it's all a moot conversation now." He bit his cheek, wondering if he should tell Levi the bad news. "He died yesterday. The second prince- the warrior- found him stabbed to death in his chambers."

Levi’s stomach dropped, and his expression quickly followed. His stood with his jaws agape, and he squinted off to the side. “I… I hadn’t heard.” He closed his mouth, and wet his chapped lips. “Who would do such a thing?” He asked dryly. His brother would do such a thing, and it shouldn’t be surprising news to him. He pursed his lips as hot anger started to well in his chest. It made his ears red. All his loved ones, Mordecai, Marya, his youngest brother, all thought he was dead?

Fiori frowned at his shock, reaching forward to comfort him and then taking a step back. He'd never been good at dealing with emotional people, even when they were dear to him. "They think it was an assassin. The warrior is claiming they are from Usige, but… there have been some whispers. That it was a family member, clearing the throne for one of their children to rule."

“Do you know if they found the body?” He buried his anger for now. When he was alone, writing down what happened to him, he would be free to think this through more expressively.
He knew who was trying to clear the throne. Johan, the warrior, was trying the clear the throne for himself, but he didn’t have the guts to get his hands dirty. The bastard. Unless there was something else going on he didn’t know about.

"They did." After half a minute more of stressing, he took Levi's hand carefully. "But… he was nearly unrecognizable. His betrothed said even she could not be sure it was him. They identified him based on his rings and where he was."

Levi absently nodded, his gaze flickering down to their hands. “They all must be devastated,” he muttered, and then after a handful of more moments spent mourning his own “death,” he spoke again. “I’m ready to go back to the room now.”

Fiori squeezed his hand comfortingly and nodded. "Alright. I'm going to lead you to the rooms and get you set up and my desk, and then I'll come back an hour later. Does that still sound good to you?"

“Yes, that still sounds good,” he agreed, squeezing his hand back. Writing the truth, and what really happened sounded more preferable than ruminating on a rumor, a lie. His distaste for his brother rose, and now clouded any good memory he had with him. Not only did he hurt the people closest to him by bringing in needless grief, but he also killed, or had someone kill an innocent man in a horrendous, cruel manner. It sickened him.

Fiori frowned. Levi was brooding, and he seemed so upset over the loss of the prince. The kind of upset that only came from losing a close friend or a lover. Still, he didn't press, he just quietly led Levi through the halls and gave him concerned little looks. "Alright." He had switched back to his own language. "You know… I hold no grudge against the Widonian princes. I would not mind if you had been… acquainted with one."

Levi followed beside him with his gaze glued to the ground, at least until Fiori spoke again, and he looked up. It took him a moment to translate what he was meaning, and then to formulate the response he wanted to go with— without revealing his identity. “Oh, the eldest prince and I were…uh, I guess one might say we were well acquainted.” As acquainted as any person might be with themself.

Fiori nodded. "Then I am sorry you've lost a friend. But… not all is lost, Leviticus. You have your Mordecai and Marya. You will make it back to them, even if the prince isn't there to greet you too."

“Indeed,” he replied, “I believe I would have suffered a more personal loss if they had been killed. So I’ll be thankful that they’re still alive. And I’m looking forward to bringing the illegal traders to justice.”

Fiori nodded, taking one last turn and opening the door to his room. "As am I. There is no greater pleasure than bringing a corrupt man to justice. You'll find pens and ink in the top left drawer of the desk."

Levi agreed in a nod, peering into the room as he stepped inside. “Perfect,” he went over to the desk and took a seat, opening the top drawer to pick out a pen and ink. “And where is the paper?”

"Bottom left. I'm going to leave you now, I'll be back in an hour." Fiori stayed long enough to watch Levi find the paper, and then he shut the door and left for the kitchens.

(time skip?)