"Oh–" Arlo quickly stops bouncing. "I'm sorry–" He looks though the glass of the balcony doors to the sleeping figure curled beneath the blankets on the bed. "Is that Bel?" He asks in a loud whisper, pointing to the bed lump inside. "I heard he's nice." The boy almost sobers. "Is he sick like me?"
Almost as quick as his emotion drained, his energy quickly replenishes. "Oh, yeah I don't worry! I'll make you your own crown soon. I think you'd like a blue one. I got pencils back in my room." A few birds roosting on the roof startle Arlo. "Oh. Oh, I forgot. I need to be back in my room before Bernhard notices I'm gone. I'm not supposed to be climbing out of my window anymore but it's just too much fun."
"Hey its okay," Nico said. "You just gotta keep the voice down a little bit so you don't wake him up." He offered a reassuring smile to Arlo. He blinked, taken aback by the words. This kid knew a little too much in his opinion. They hadn't been able to evenshare with Miran that everything was alright and yet this kid knew? He cleared his throat. "Hey, you guys aren't sick," he said. "You can still do normal activies right? You're still able to climb on the roof yes? You're not sick. It's a family disorder it's just something that runs in the family and you got it. But you're able to treat it and still run around like other boys and girls. So you're not sick. Not one bit."
He chuckled as Arlo's energy went right back uo. He shook his head, giving up in trying to quiet him. "We'll thank you Arlo. I look forward to it. I'm sure we'll meet again later today. Though perhaps don't tell them how we met." He looked a little uneasy. "Are you sure it's safe to go back on the roof?"
"Well all the doctors say I'm sick. That's why they don't want me on the roof." There are probably other reasons why the nine year old child shouldn't be on the roof of a massive palace. "And I have to take this stupid medicine every morning and it tastes like really sour grass and the doctors technically aren't allowed to let me leave the palace but Sella and the others still sneak me out. My older sister Ianna is sick too but hers is really bad. Sometimes she has to wear the mask for a whole day. My brother Olipher is also sick but he's lucky and he's never coughed up blood." Arlo sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. "My dad and my auntie Dionn were sick too but I think they're both gone now. I don't know if they were too sick or if it was a different reason. That's why Sella's queen now."
"Yeah it's fine!" His tone hardly wavers from its excited rambling. "I do it all the time and I've only fallen off once. But that was when Bernhard scared me and I lost my balance but I landed on a balcony so I didn't fall all the way to the ground." The boy speaks far to casually of his near experience with death. He probably doesn't even understand the concept all too well.
Nico could think of several reasons why a child shouldn't be on the roofs on the palace, or any roof really. He felt a wave of sympathy and sorrow for the child. Just because he was sick didn't mean he had to be stuffed here in this palace. He should be allowed to see the world. "The medicine helps keep you healthy, you have to take it along with your siblings. Hopefully as you get older, you'll be able to go out more without sneaking around." He knew now that Sella was his aunt, not mother. He had been wondering how that would have happened.
He tried not to visibly wince as Arlo explained that he had fallen before. "You need to be careful. If you fall again you might not be so lucky. I don't want to see you get hurt." He shook his head. He was rambunctious, Arlo. "Now off you go, carefully. You don't want to get in trouble do you?"
"They could at least make it taste better," Arlo responds, climbing on top of the thin balcony railing. "Maybe put some cherry in there. I love cherries. We try to grow some but the mountains are hard to grow cherries in." With an oomf, Arlo leaps from the railing and latches onto the gutter, using his thin little arms to haul himself back onto the roof. He scrambles around, laying on his stomach to peer over the edge at Nico. "I only sneak on the roof. Sella lets me go to the stables and to the town and to Misses Tate's bakery and to the mines–but she only lets me go a little into the mines. She says that there's dangerous creatures living in the mine and I'm not old enough to fight them yet."
The birds next to him chirp, and Arlo stares at them with a very serious look for a nine year old. "Margie and Peter are telling me that Bernhard is about to get to my room and I'll be in trouble if he finds me on the roof again. I gotta go but will I see you at breakfast, Nico? Sella's not back yet but Loven and the rest of my siblings will be there. They're all really nice. You should bring Bel too. I want to meet him. I heard he paints and writes and plays music and makes candles and all sorts of other things. Maybe he can teach me how to blacksmith. Then I could make myself a hammer. I've always wanted a hammer–" The birds squeal again and Arlo's mouth shuts with a click. "Sorry Nico I really gotta go now. I liked meeting you!" And with that, the boy is standing on the roof and sprinting across the precarious shingles all the way to another wing of the palace.
Nico was feeling very stressed right about now as he watched this child jump around and play with death like this. As he watched Arlo leap from the balcony and grab onto the gutter, he sprung up in a heartbeat, barely remembering to tighten the blanket around him in time. His eyes were wide and his heart was beating fast. If this child fell he would be the one to blame. He should have just taken him out the bedroom door and taken him back to his room. He was hardly hearing what the boy was saying. Not until he started talking to the birds.
And the birds were apparently talking back to him. Magic. He was an animal mage. Curious indeed. And it shocked him enough to pause in his panic. He blinked. "I liked meeting you too. Be careful!" He called after the boy. He really should have just taking him out the door. But he wasn't all that good with children. Or at least not the ones that climbed on roofs.
Nico's voice is nothing but wind behind Arlo as he scrambles across the roof, leaping off one segment to a lower one. He weaves around chimneys and steps expertly over loose panels. The kingdom may be ruled by his older sister, but Arlo's domain is clearly the rooftops. Eventually he disappears from sight, ducking through an open window to his room.
Inside Nico's own room, Bel stirs, reaching over to the other side of the bed to blindly feel around for Nico. When he only comes up with empty and cold sheets, he sits up. Did he hear Nico speaking to someone? Where? The prince blinks the sleep from his eyes as he takes in the room, just as cheesily lavish as he left it the night before. Standing on balcony at the far side of the room is Bel's blond king. His chest relaxes as he locates him. Bel stands, the marble cold beneath his feet. He quickly finds the bathroom and slips on a soft robe and wraps it around himself. "Good morning," he says as he gently opens the balcony door. "How did you sleep?"
Nico watched as Arlo scrambled across the roof. His heart was beating so fast in his chest he thought it was going to jump out. Not until the little prince had made it through the window and safely in his room did Nico relax back into his seat. He took a deep breath, trying ti relax back unto the silence. But it didn't last long.
He heard Bel moving behind him in their bedroom. He didn't turn his head as he heard the door slide open. He just kept his head looking forward, watching the horizon. He held out his hand for Bel to apprach him and take it. He finally turned his head to the side to look at him. "It was alright, love." At least until the three hours were up and the nightmares came back.
Bel takes the offered hand and steps to Nico's side, resting his head on the other's shoulder. The sun is rising over the peaks, the sky pink and lavender with the promise of the new day. It hits the mountains and all of their metals, almost sparkling. Gods, has he missed the Blakkast sunrises. "Did the tonic work?" Bel asks, slightly nervous for the answer.
"Were you talking to someone?" Bel inquires, looking to the neighboring balconies at least ten yards away. Loven had told them the hallway was empty. There are birds on the roof. Had Nico been speaking to birds?
Nico squeezed his hand as he came to take it. He leaned his head against Bel's, kissing the side of his head. He tugged him untim he was seated in his lap and he wrapped his arms losely around him. He turned his gaze to look at the rising sun. It was beautiful. He almost never wanted to leave. Only he had his own kingdom to attend to.
"Yes, it worked," he stroked his back. For a time it worked. Only the nightmares came rushing back to him the moment the hour was up. He turned his gaze to Bel. "It seems this palace as an adventurous little prince. He likes to climb the roofs. Best to keep that little bit to ourselves I think."
Bel sits up, staring at Nico with wide eyes and a smile. "It did?" He repeats, holding Nico's hand tighter. "Nico, that's amazing! Oh my gods, how are you feeling?" With one hand still entwined with Nico's, Bel brings his other up to squeeze his bicep. Treya's drought worked–it worked and that means Nico can finally sleep uninterrupted by nightmares.
However the mention of an adventurous prince causes Bel to turn his head in slight confusion. "Climbing the roof, you say?" He repeats, leaning forward to get a better look at the top of the castle. Then, he looks over the edge of the balcony and immediately jerks his head back with the vertigo. "We're quite a ways up." Bel takes a moment to cycle through all seven siblings on his mother's side of the family. The youngest two that he knows of are a set of twins, both of them girls. They should be maybe twelve about now. The last Bel saw them, they were only toddlers and Bel was eleven. Maybe his aunt and uncle had an eighth child and he wasn't aware.
"Odd," Bel says, shaking his head to bring himself back to the present. He brings a hand to run through his hair. Oh, right. He was going to restyle it today. "Do you want to come with me back inside? I think there will be a breakfast if we want to try and hit the town before it's mealtime. We need proper clothes."
Nico did not hold the same excitement as Bel did. Perhaps some of it was due to the fact he had gotten just barely more than three hours of sleep in the last day or so. Or the haunting nightmares that had filled his head when the drought had worn off. If he didn't wake up right as the affects wore off, nightmares woukd crawl right back in. He o ly gave Bel a weak smile and kissed his cheek. He did not want to ruin this happiness for him.
He looked back out at the roof, nodding his head. "Gave me quite a fright. I was terrified he was going to fall. I'll suppose you'll meet him later. He's a sweet boy when he isn't climbing on roofs." He shook his head at the memory. "You'll like him."
He looked back at Bel, smiling at his slightly disheveled look. He loved that Bel was never bothered any time that Nico got up from the bed. He found it adorable, and slightly alarming, how deep he slept. He placed a hand on his cheek, nodding his head. "That sounds wonderful to me love."
"Sounds like quite the handful," Bel notes with a grin, shifting to look up at the roof as if he could catch a glimpse of the mysterious little prince who climbs them. He would have to be one of Sella's youngest siblings, perhaps one he's never met before. "I know I'll love him," Bel replies. Who couldn't love a child who sneaks out on rooftops at the crack of dawn.
At the affirmation, Bel smiles and stands, grabbing Nico's hand to help him to his feet. He notes the blanket and the fact that there's nothing underneath. "Did you talk with a child while naked?" He raises an eyebrow, a dimple forming from where he tries not to laugh. "Nicandros Callistar, I cannot believe you." He shakes his head as he laughs, leading them back through the balcony doors and into the room. Their dirty clothes still lay on the bathroom floor, Bels shirt sliced open down the middle from where the doctors had to get to his chest.
Regardless of their condition, Bel still picks them up one by one, handing them back for Nico to carry. "We'll hurry and get dressed and them to the market for new clothes. After will be breakfast and then we can come back here for whatever." A slight mischievous glint flickers in his eyes.
Nico held Bel's hand in one hand and the secured the blanket in the other. He only gave Bel a knowing smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, there wasn't much else to do. And he didn't have me climbing roofs with him so it looks like everything stayed perfectly hidden." It certainly wasn't ideal but it had worked out just fine. But he was not going to make it a habit.
He followed Bel back to the bathroom where their dirtier and bloodied clothes lay on the floor. He tool the pieces of clothing as Bel handed then to him, making a face. "Are you sure we can't just call a maid in here and request a change of clothes for the both of us?"
"We probably could?" Bel says, Nico's shirt still hanging from his hand. "The only issue is I don't know how. We could look for a bell or something?" He shrugs and hands Nico his shirt before leading them both to the main room. The room narrows to a hallway as it approaches the door, a long end table with a few vibrant flowers potted atop of it.
Attached to a long chord leading though a small hole in the wall is a silver chime hanging from a small hook. "This might be it?" Bel says, pointing to the small bell.
Nico took the shirt that was handed to him but he didn't put it on. It was stained with Bel's blood. He could practically smell the iron of it. He didn't want to wear something that held a reminder of Bel's dance with death. He did, however, tug on his trousers. Other than being a little dirty, there was nothing wrong with them. He could send then to the laundry after they visited town and picked up a few more articles of clothing.
Nico went to Bel's side, placing his hands on his waist. He looked at the bell then back down at his Bel. "Ring it. See what happens?" He shrugged his shoulders. Only one way to find out if something happened.
Bel shrugs in response, reaching up with his free hand to ring the bell. The chime echoes through the room, bouncing off the marble and walls. He sits for a moment as the sound fades, the silence that follows nearly deafening. Bel blinks. "Well, now I guess that we just wait." In the meantime he can brush his teeth and fix his hair. He wonders if Sella has any gold earrings to borrow; Bel gave his up all those weeks ago when he first met Nico.
Bel, hesitant to let him go, drags Nico to the bathroom with him. There are unused toothbrushes laying in one drawer of the excessive vanity. He hands Nico one to use, but only if he wants. Bel makes quick work if his teeth, scrubbing all the blood from his mouth and watching it go down the drain. Right. He needs his medicine soon. However, before he can think much of it, there's a knock at the door.
Quickly rinsing off his toothbrush, Bel finally detaches himself from Nico and scuttles to the door. After peering through the small peephole, he deems it safe and opens the door to show a young woman with black hair and a teal and silver uniform. "Hi," she says, slightly out of breath. "You called?"
Nico was glad Bel seemed to have the same feeling as he. He didn't want to ket go of Bel, much less be separated from him. He followed him to the bathroom and took the toothbrush that was offered. He began to brush his teeth, pausing as he saw the blood in the sink. It made him tense. Just another reminder of how Bel had almost died.
He blinked as there was a knock at the door. He spit out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth before following Bel back to the bedroom. He was at least half decent. He had his trousers on but his chest was bare. The rays of the rising sun seemed only to heighten his scars. He crossed his arms, standing a few feet behind Bel. Even if this was a small woman it didn't mean she was any less of a threat to them.
The woman looks between Bel and Nico, her eyes wide and her face a little red. From what is the real question. "I– uh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Lynn, a housekeeper here. I uh–" She quickly looks over the two men and then to the room behind them.
"Hi–" Bel quickly cuts her rambling off with a friendly smile, finding himself casually leaning against the doorframe. "My fiance and I arrived here yesterday in a haste. We left all of our belongings with our party and they won't be here for another day at least. Do you think you could grab us some proper clothes?" Her face reddens even more at that. Her dark eyes dart to the sides.
"Yes, I can do that–" she clears her throat into a balled fist. "Do you have any measurements I can quickly relay to the seamstress?"
Nico watched the woman with a raised eyebrow. She looked very flustered and he didn't quite understand it. All Nico was massing was a shirt. And Bel had on a robe that covered everything. It shouldn't be a big deal. She seemed to be making rhis a big deal when it wasn't. "I'm a large," was all he said. He didn't know the proper measurements. Knmy that he usually fit larger clothing due to his muscles.
He put his hand on the door, waiting for to leave so he could shut it. He looked down at Bel as he waited for him to give her his measurements and this could be done. At least untim she returned with their clothes.
Lynn nods, visibly commiting Nico's size to memory as she looks over his chest. "And you, uh–"
"Bel." A smile and then he rattles off some precise measurements that he's used since he grew into his height at sixteen. Lynn does not move her eyes from Bel's face. After he finishes the short list, Lynn looks to the ceiling to mentally recount the message. Once she has it down, she looks to both of the men with a tight smile before saying her thanks and scuttling off.
"She was awfully nervous," Bel says calmly as he watches her rush past a guard puma posted at the top of the stairs. He laughs and shakes his head, stepping back as Nico closes the door.
Nico raised an eyebrow as the maid scurried away and through the hallway. She seemed awfully skiddish. He didn't understand why. His people were not shy to a little bit of skin. Living in tents all their lives they got used to seeing each other a little more indecent. It was just something that couldn't be helped. But he supposed other places were a bit more prude. He shut the door as soon as Bel moved out of the way.
He placed his hand on the small of Bel's back while shrugging his shoulders. "I can't imagine why?" Because it most definitely could not be Nico standing there half naked and his chest covered in scars that was intimidating. Absolutely not. "What should we do until she returns?"
"Maybe she's new?" Bel supplies as he grabs Nico's hand again. "Or intimidated by your muscles." A pause. "Or very attracted to them," he adds with a scrunched smirk. He leads them to the massive couch sitting opposite of a fireplace sharing a wall with the balcony. "And while we wait for Lynn to return, I suppose we can tell each other our deepest and darkest secrets."
Bel flops against the couch and brings Nico down with him. "Ill go first," Bel starts in a lighthearted tone. "my favorite animal is a moose." He brings his free hand up to mimic their massive antler.
Nico highly doubted she was intimated by his muscles. Perhaps the scars but certainly not his muscles. They looked too good to intimidate anyone. Or at least people attracted to him. Some men might be intimidated that he was bigger than them.
He took a seat next to Bel, practically pulling him into his lap. He raised an eyebrow at him. "A moose? Why a moose?" He could understand be terrified of them. Huge was an understatement. They were towering. They could kill a man simply by stepping on them. Nico didn't mess with them. He simply let them go about their day while he stayed frozen until they passed. He thankfully hadn't had many interactions with one but it happened on the occasion.
"I think they have kind eyes," Bel responds, leaning his head against the arm of thr couch. "And they can swim, which is impressive and terrifying." One of the main companions in his favorite bed time story had been a moose, and his mother sewed him a little plush when he was very young. "I saw one once when Val and I went hunting. He was a baby but we knew the mother would be near so we got out of there quickly."
He looks to Nico."That's enough of explaining myself and meese. I want to know something else about you."
Nico shook his head at the explanation. "We'll first off, you got lucky. And secondly, the plural word for moose is still moose, love." He placed his hand on Bel's thigh, giving it a small squeeze. He settled back into the cushion of the sofa. Something about him? He wasn't sure what to tell. He was a simple man.
He crossed his ankle over his knee, drumming his fingers on Bel's thigh. "I think you know mostly everything about me Bel. I'm not a complicated man." Not that there was anything wrong with that. He loved all of Bel's quirks. "I used to have a dog." He shrugged his shoulders. "He died a few years ago though."
"Meese," Bel corrects with a grin because it's clearly the superior plural. Mooses, Meeses, Moosi, Moose. They're all fun and Bel simply does not wish to abide by simple grammar rules this early in the morning.
Bel doubts he knows everything about Nico.He would love to, but there are a few simple things Bel wants. His favorite food, favorite hobby, best childhood memory, best missions, favorite animal, stance on grammar rules. All small, insignificant things that Bel can't wait to learn in the future. "What was his name?" Bel asks, interest piqued at the idea of Nico and a dog. The image in his mind is a sacred one–a smaller version of Nico weaving and darting through trees with a panting dog at his heels.
Nico only laughed, shaking his head. He pinched Bel's thigh for being silly. It was most certainly not meese but he wouldn't correct him again. He had a feeling Bel would only fight him on it. He moved his arm to rest around Bel's shoulders, kissing his head as he drew the prince to his side. "His name was Lucky because good things always seemed to happen to me when he was around." He imagines of his Rottweiler came to mind. He had been a fierce friend and loyal protector.
He looked down at Bel. "What about you? Did you ever have a pet?" If he had, Nico would likely surprise him with said pet.
Bel squirms a little when Nico pinches his thigh, but then laughs as Nico maneuvers him to be at his side. He rests his head against Nico's shoulder and imagines Lucky the dog. "He sounded like a great companion," Bel notes with a soft smile.
"And no, the closest thing to a pet I had was Katya, but she's… well, she's a horse and often just fir utility. She's a wonderful animal, though, and the only one my father would allow." He purses his lips. "Ive always wanted a cat."
Nico smiled softly, already starting to plan. He would have to talk with Sella or Loven to make sure it was alright with them. This was their home. But Bel wanted a cat and he would fight for a cat. He wanted Bel to be happy above all else. And just because Nico preferred dogs didn't mean that he wouldn't be happy with a cat.
"Perhaps one day we'll get one." He would let Bel get whatever animal he wished for. Nothing woukd be unattainable. Well, if he asked for a shark that might not be doable but most common animals would be.
