"Yes." Nik replied. "I am sorry about that, that we must rush into this. But… between the war and my lifespan…" And to be honest, he had no idea if this curse would affect his lifespan. If he would live longer because of it, or if he would die sooner. Either way, he and Kaylum needed to wed if they survived.
(“And they were cellmates”)
(“Omg they were cellmates”)
Kaylum raised an eyebrow at him. “You sure are apologizing a lot for things you can’t control,” he remarked. Even if he was uncomfortable with the idea, he had accepted the fact that a union between them was their best move.
(lmaoo)
He cocked his head faintly. "Well, it is technically my fault that we must rush into this. If I had not attacked Seren– or if I was never born in the first place– then none of this would be happening. Therefore, it is my fault. Without Seren attacking the camp, we could have done the treaty without needing to be married, and he would never have attacked the camp if I had not attacked him first."
Kay sat up, unsure whether he should be annoyed or amused. “By Anthemian’s tooth, I’ve told you this before, prince. How can you ask to born, and be born with a curse for that matter? Honestly, I don’t think it matters that you attacked him.” Just then, he thought of something. “Hmm, I wonder, if that curse was not imprinted on you, would our souls still be tied together? If you had not been born with it, would we still be..?”
He blinked at him, considering that. "I'm…I'm not sure." He said softly. "It's…I don't know if the curse affects soulmates or not. There's no research on that, because of what Kevra usually does with cursed children." He cleared his throat very faintly, eyes narrowing faintly as he considered that.
Kaylum shook his head. “Aye, aye. Anyhow, I disagree. It’s not your fault, and I don’t see the point of playing the blame game anyway. We’re here now, there’s no point in dwelling on the past. If we live in the next five years or sooner, we’ll wed. Our feelings about it do not matter in the long run.”
He nodded slightly. "Yes. And once we are married, I will not mind if you take on a mistress or mister." He said softly. "I shall not hold that against you, as, while we are soulmates, I do not want to trap you in a relationship with me."
He studied the other man for a moment. “That is thoughtful of you. I will not mind if you do the same.”
Nik nodded faintly. "Of course." Privately, he knew he would not; a mistress especially not. Any pregnancy, any bastards, and the Kevran throne would potentially be put into jeopardy.
Really, he did not know if he would take a lover. He had never really been interested in such things, they had always seemed rather pointless in the stories Kaylum has heard and read. Though, he has speculated, and had been in a relationship before. It just did not last long. If he took a lover now, or in the near future, he believed it would end similarly. And then, what would be the point of it? What would he have gained? Memories, perhaps. Just memories.
He sighed faintly, shaking his head for a moment. "Anyways." He didn't know what to say now, what he wanted to do about all of this. What was on their future? What would he and Kaylum do? What would even happen to them, what would Seren do?
Kaylum laid back down, closed his eyes. “Well, since we spent this much time talking about it, we have to live now. We have to.”
He was getting tired again. His mismatched eyes fluttered open, then closed once more.
He hummed a little. "We should try and get some sleep; we will need it tomorrow, I think. Seren will need my crown, and he…" he closed his eyes. "He is going to do anything he can to get it from me. I hate to say this, but…he may hurt you to try and force me to give up my crown, and…and I'm going to have to tell you that I can't break for you. I cannot do that to my country." he didn't open his eyes, not wanting to see the expression on Kaylum's face. "I cannot break for your pain, disregarding our status as soulmates."
“Oh, wonderful. Pain and suffering,” Kay said sarcastically. “Hmm, good. If you broke for me, then I would consider that to be very, very stupid.”
Even if he was being sarcastic, he was almost eager to face whatever Seren may have in store for him. Neither his parents or Xiomara are here to protect him, and though the pain of losing them was still raw, he wanted to see what he could do on his own. He had been shielded for so long…
Nik sighed very faintly. "I am sorry." he said. "But I will not endanger my country for you." his words were quiet, but honest. At least, he hoped they were. He knew he would not break for himself, but he had always, always broke easier for the pain of others than his own. He could only hope Seren did not know that.
“Always apologizing…” he observed again, close to drifting off. His ear twitched. “Mm…”
For a few moments, the only sound he heard was his own rhythmic breathing, and then it faded into nothingness. Thank the great ancestors in the stars, his sleep was dreamless and no nightmares haunted him.
(timeskip?)
Nikolas eventually fell asleep, leaning against the wall of their cell, face directed towards the door. If it opened, he wanted to be able to see who it was immediately, without having to move much.
(Sure ^^)
(alright. To morning, or?)
(Morning’s good! And I can post the timeskip if you’d like me to)
(alright! That works, then :)
Kaylum woke, sunlight tickling his eyelids. For a moment he didn’t recognize where he was, how he got there. Then he saw Nik beside him, and let out a sigh. He sat up, and could audibly hear his back popping. Last night had been an uncomfortable one. Perhaps he should start sleeping in dragon form.
Nik was still asleep, though he had slipped down until he was curled in a ball on his side, head still turned towards the door. He seemed smaller, somehow, now that he was asleep and relaxed, even if he was lying on a cold, hard floor.
Kaylum stretched out his limbs, then popped his neck. Once all the stiffness in his body had been taken care of, he yawned, looking over to Nikolas again. Should he wake him up? Although, he could already think of a better way to spend his time. He laid back down again and astral projected. Just how big was this camp, and how many humans did it hold? Kay intended to find out.
The camp was not massive, but it was not tiny either. There was quite a good amount of humans, but not anywhere near the amount that you would need to wage war on one country, let alone two. This would point to Nik being correct; Seren intended to get Kevra's crown from Nik, then use Kevra to take over Tesh.
Kay stalked the camp, surveying the field of faintly glowing souls, most of them living. It was a little strange compared to seeing the shining, multicolored stars of dragon shifters. The physical world shifted in and out of his perception, but Kay could easily gauge the size of the place. There weren’t enough souls to make up an army, but it was easy to see why they overwhelmed the Tesh and Kevran camps. Was it possible they could escape with this many humans around? The forest would be a good cover; the problem was the matter of getting there.
The tent the two princes were in was rather close to the center of the camp, and there were guards outside it. The other difficulty to escape would be Nik's leg; he would hardly be able to walk on it, much less run, and while Kay could easily outpace him, would the shifter leave Nik behind if he had to?
Seren's command tent was close to their cell, and Seren himself was currently in his tent, seemingly deep in thought.
Kay’s incorporeal form shivered. He couldn’t fly, and Nik couldn’t run… and all these humans. Perhaps he could let Nik ride on his back. Xiomara and he would sometimes do it when they were younger. One would be in human form, and the other in dragon form, and the human would ride the dragon. Kay wouldn’t be able to fly, but he could still use his teeth and claws on anyone who got in their way.
But of course… there was a chance they could be overwhelmed by the number of soldiers. And getting out of the cell was probably a matter of timing. He hummed softly. He should probably discuss this with Nik, he was the one who had fought in battles.
Passing by Seren’s tent, he decided to peer inside.
Seren was seated at his desk, a pen in hand and his gaze slightly unfocused. He was deep in thought, not really doing anything actively, nor was he speaking. There was no way to know his future plans.
(villainous plotting intensifies)
Kaylum only studied him for a few seconds. There was nothing he could do here.
He went back to the cell and hopped back into his body. Sitting up, he stretched again and peered over the other man. "Are you awake yet?" he asked.