Lucky Us

"Your majesty. You weren't kidding when you said you had never learned to dance," Duchess Astrid said, looking incredibly embarrassed for him as he'd made her youngest daughter, Lady Adelaide, trip yet again.

"I'm more surprised that you assumed I was merely being humble," Ísar said as he helped the glaring lady back up, not caring all that much about the preparations for his social debut.

He'd attended many balls prior to being king but those were merely royal appearances. He just stayed in the background with the rest of his siblings, not much socializing or dancing involved. The fact that he even had to do such tasks as king with the added socializing made his head hurt.

That being said, the upcoming social season was the least of his concerns.

He needed to get more information on the powers he probably had and what that meant about him.

He needed to know what happened in that underground hallway with the former king and that meant tracking down the retired court mage, Adrian. He also needed to understand why the voices in his head had randomly disappeared then slowly reappeared because ever since the Count had informed him about necromancy, the voices had been chattering non-stop in his mind. What was worse was that he could pin-point them now.

It was like his powers were growing and it terrified him not even knowing what they were.

There was also the issue of last night where he'd troubled Xinghua with his problems.

The Imperial Son hadn't signed up for any of that when he'd visited as an envoy. Ísar had felt so embarrassed he'd left the prince in the bed, letting his friend sleep in as he snuck out with a bright red face. Ísar had done his morning routine in a guest room merely because of his embarrassment.

"You do well in other matters of study but the arts simply aren't working well," the Duchess mused with a sigh, gloved hands playing with her fan.

Ísar ran a hand through his hair, annoyed with how long it was getting as well as the small amount of sweat on his forehead.

The whole process was annoying and he had half the mind to call the whole thing off and reject all invitations. Even the one meant to happen in his castle. He could've simply appeared and disappeared just like that.

"Forgive me your majesty but I don't think I can be your partner anymore today for your practice," Lady Adelaide said while giving him a bow though her expression was the farthest thing from respectful. She moved to the side of the hall to take a seat beside the windows to rub her feet.

Ísar nodded in understanding, glancing at her red feet. "Let's take a break at the very least. I'll call in some refreshments." He beckoned one of the maids standing by the door who bowed in understanding and made to leave.

Only that Xinghua was standing behind the door when she opened it, his hand raised to knock.

"My apologies," the Imperial Son said, expression blank like usual whenever he talked to anyone but his two friends. "I was looking for the king to discuss some matters."

Ísar immediately blanched, not fully ready to look at Xinghua after embarrassing himself the way that he did. He was also terrified of the other boy's honest reaction to what he'd told him the previous night.

He was terrified to witness either the best case scenario which was unacceptance, or the worst case which was full on disgust and contempt. He didn't dare hope for anything close to acceptance, scared of the disappointment.

"Can this wait until after our lesson, your highness?" the Duchess asked, looking more stressed than she needed to be. It wasn't like she was Ísar's mother and panicking over his debut.

"I heard you were taking a break so it should be fine," Xinghua said without even sparing her or anyone else a glance, striding into the hall with all the confidence a prince should have.

Then he paused while he stood a few steps in front of the frozen king and a small smile spread across his face.

"Or I could offer to help his majesty with his lessons. We can quickly wrap up this task while you ladies rest."

Oh you fucking—

"What a marvelous idea! I've seen you dance during many foreign balls and you are quite talented! Though his majesty has to lead," the Duchess said with more pep in her voice than before.

Xinghua nodded, still looking at Ísar who felt like he was being cornered by a large animal.

"Is that alright with you, your majesty?" Xinghua asked, stepping closer until he was in Ísar's space.

The young king looked up at his friend and tried to glare at him but failed when he saw the prince's soft smile.

"It's fine but I apologize in advance for your toes. They're about to be massacred."

Xinghua sputtered out a short laugh as the music started. "Please have mercy on them if only a little. Now," he put Ísar's hand on the small of his back, "I'm going to need you to follow my directions and simply try to lead me. You learned the basics of your kingdom's dances, right?"

"Don't talk to me like a baby, of course I know. How and why you know them is beyond me. What next?"

Ísar knew he was being overly defensive but he couldn't help it. He was nervous and having the other boy close to him wasn't helping.

"Next is you take a deep breath and relax. Free your mind of all thoughts for now. I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder and you're going to follow the basics, the music and I'll follow you."

Ísar flinched slightly when Xinghua's hand landed on his shoulder but he did as was told. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax, genuinely worried of stepping on Xinghua's feet.

"Now move."

And so he did, remembering how his steps were supposed to match where each note of the song was, and Xinghua followed. Their height difference was supposed to make their movements awkward but Xinghua really was a good dancer.

Ísar was about to fully relax when Xinghua decided to speak.

"I found out something about what you told me last night after you left for sword training."

The young king almost tripped on the next step but Xinghua easily carried him through, making the mistake look like a unique take on the centuries old dance. Lady Adelaide even gave them a surprised applause as she snacked on the refreshments.

"What?" Ísar asked, more focused on the conversation now than the dancing. "What? How? That was fast. Where?"

"One question at a time, little ox. Spin now." And so they spun before moving towards the next part of the dance.

"I might be your friend now but I am also part of the Qianlong army. My unit specialized in civil unrest which required gathering information. I only started looking and this information could very-well be useless. There's a hidden tomb under your uncle's estate. It's open yet nobody has been able to enter it for decades. My intel only says that it requires some ancient dark magic. Again, it could be completely useless information."

The song was ending soon and Ísar needed to process all of those words quickly.

"You didn't need to do all of that. This has no advantage for you or your kingdom and what if I actually am something abominable?"

Xinghua's hand on his shoulder tightened a little before relaxing again then out of nowhere, their roles were switched and the prince became the lead.

Ísar found himself scrambling to put his hand on Xinghua's shoulder to keep himself from falling while the prince took hold of his waist.

"Please don't describe yourself as such. I don't care what we find, you're always just that little ox I ador—that I care about," Xinghua said before he spun Ísar and dipped him, their faces inches apart.

They were both panting heavily after that long dance, staring at each other for what felt like hours. Ísar was so mesmerized by Xinghua's dark eyes that he almost forgot what they were talking about. They only came back to reality after they heard the Duchess and Lady Adelaide clapping enthusiastically.

Xinghua shook his head slightly and his cheeks had gone an interesting shade of bright pink before he pulled Ísar back to his feet.

They were still standing rather close to each other and Ísar's heart was pounding violently.

"That was beautiful!" Lady Adelaide all but exclaimed, almost bouncing as she made her way towards them. She stood in-between the two boys and grabbed Ísar's hand like they were close.

He'd only known of her existence mere hours ago.

"I knew his majesty was hiding his talents all along! I can't wait for you to attend my family's ball in the coming weeks!"

You were irritated with me only a few minutes ago, my lady.

Ísar was barely listening to her, the feeling of having Xinghua stare so openly at him was still in his mind.

"And you, Imperial Son Xinghua!" the Duchess exclaimed as she bowed slightly at Xinghua. "I knew you could dance but that was truly something else. Oh you must attend some of the events this social season before you depart. I know some young ladies would be honored to have you for their first dance."

That comment made Ísar feel the most intense wave of jealousy he'd ever felt in his life and he immediately wanted to leave.

"We'll discuss that another time. I am quite tired and there is still something to discuss with the prince so I shall depart from you ladies." Ísar didn't even bother with the usual departure greetings, he simply took Xinghua's hand and dragged the other boy out of the small hall.

He also hadn't liked the way Lady Adelaide had looked at the prince when Xinghua had walked in. The way her pale cheeks turned pink when the Imperial Son had entered in his loose sparring shirt and his long hair up in a high ponytail, two strands of hair framing his face…Well, it bothered the king greatly.

Something sinister in his mind was telling him to lock up the prince and never let anyone but himself be around him but he quickly shut that down.

He had gotten good at ignoring the voices.

——————

"You didn't greet them goodbye," Xinghua noted once they were both in Ísar's study, the king's workers and aides already departed as it was past five in the evening, making the room empty.

"That is of little import. Will you attend the Viscount's ball with me?"

Ísar had asked that almost impulsively, the suggestion not even fully formed in his brain before he'd said it.

Xinghua blinked once then twice then he tilted his head in question. "As in as your guest or as something else?"

Ísar looked all around the room as he leaned his back against his desk with his arms folded.

"Whichever works best," he said without looking at Xinghua as he tried to play it off as casual. "I was wondering if you would like to come and maybe aid me with looking for the tomb you mentioned. The Viscount's estate is close enough to my uncle's. We could easily teleport there. If you want, I mean."

Ísar finally glanced at his friend and was confused by the other boy's look of disappointment that vanished almost as soon as it came.

"Ah of course, of course. Alright, I'll go with you. When is it?"

Ísar at least had enough shame to look apologetic when he answered with, "In two days?"

Xinghua put his hands to his face and sighed like an old man that was being overworked. He still had a small smile on his face so Ísar guessed he hadn't ruined their relationship just yet.

"At this point, I might as well request to stay here as a diplomatic resident."

"Can you?" Ísar didn't mean to sound as hopefully desperate as he did when asking that.

Xinghua put his hands down and got closer to Ísar. The king hugged the boy first before he could even reach the table.

"…I would have already if I could. Maybe at some point but all princes must live in the palace until they are sixteen. Only exceptions are visits like this and the Academy." Xinghua slowly wrapped his arms around Ísar, rubbing the young king's back almost immediately after.

"Will you come then?"

Ísar felt like he sounded like a spoiled child but he genuinely was hopeful. It would take the next three to four years but he could wait if it meant he'd be able to live with Xinghua.

Xinghua went quiet for a moment and Ísar took the silence as his answer, letting him know that he pushed it and gone too far.

"I apologize. I keep putting you in rather off situations, and do forgive me for last night. It was quite unseemly, wasn't it? I don't know what came over me and I—," Ísar was rambling and Xinghua cut him off.

"I was just thinking it through, Ísar," Xinghua said with a quiet laugh, rubbing his back. "I'll go with you to the ball and will think about moving with you when the time comes."

Ísar hid his smile by looking down, unable to fully hide his elation. He thought it was too childish of him to enjoy how much Xinghua spoiled him the way he did, but he couldn't help it.

He made to escape the embrace when he finally controlled his expressions but Xinghua tightened the hug.

"Stay still for a moment," the Imperial Son mumbled, resting his head on Ísar's shoulder. "My master nearly broke my body today. He never goes easy on me."

"Oh okay," Ísar said, his voice cracking a bit when Xinghua's hair brushed his neck. "That's fine."

"You know," Xinghua said after a few minutes of silence with a bit of laughter in his voice, "In some clans back in my nation, asking someone to move in with you would count as a proposal. Luckily, it's not a practice within my clan."

Ísar could feel his blush through his entire body, his usually cold body suddenly feeling warm.

"Yes," he mumbled while looking at the ceiling, "Lucky us."