Of Regal Honor and Noble Misgivings - One: Friends
Title: Of Regal Honor and Noble Misgivings
Pairing: TezukaFuji
Rating: G for now
Genre: Romance/Fantasy... and angst. yes, angst
Warnings: sort of regency AU, shounen ai
Disclaimer: Tezuka and Fuji aren't mine. They own each other, though. But the setting is all mine.
Summary: Tezuka is the Prince. Fuji is the Marquis. They'll be friends forever, Yumiko thinks.
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
50episodes prompt: 06. friends
A/N: Because I can't finish Dictionary on time and I can't draw the plot for the oneshot (which leans towards Fuji instead of Tezuka anyway), I decided to get started with this. What logic I have! -drips sticky sarcasm- Now I’m juggling five fics. T.T I want the exams to end. Rawr. This plot bunny was, if anything, hopping even before I joined the comm.. Posted early for Tezuka’s birthday because I need to study. Unedited for the same reason.
Chapter One
----Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.----
A child born to a king and a queen was a child born to luxury, to honor and to fame. Plenty of things were expected of him even at the age of two hours and ten minutes. He’d be a wonderful king, wouldn’t he? Yes, yes. He’d lower the taxes, hopefully. He’ll probably make peace with Triadanus. He’d lift the quota of fabric import. He’d also lift the tax from the cost of Hetral wine… Yes, Hetral wine!
Her Royal Majesty Tezuka Ayana waved her hand to call the nursemaid over to her side. She whispered an order and, in a matter of seconds, her son was brought to comfort in her arms. The child, a boy, was an eight and a quarter pound of quiet delight - too quiet, in fact, that the midwives nearly fainted when the child didn’t cry at the moment he was out of his mother’s womb. After three seconds of nervous silence, however, the child coughed. Then, he cried low and long, causing the midwives to let out a relieved sigh.
Staring, the child gazed up at his mother. His imperceptive amber eyes were bright against the lamp’s light.
“How are you, Kunimitsu?” asked the Queen of Fenestrium in a gentle voice. Pride could be seen in her eyes, joy was evident in her flushed, exhausted yet lovely countenance. Her eternal smile was broader than ever because she had, at the age of 38, finally given birth to a child.
The young Prince, however, shifted in his mother’s arms and fell into slumber.
“Isn’t he wonderful, Kuniharu?” asked the Queen as she daintily laid her child on the bed, right where she could see him properly and watch him with awe.
“I already sent a missive to Aoyama to tell him that we indeed have a boy,” said the King tonelessly, not quite giving a reply to the Queen’s question.
The smile in the Queen’s face faltered. She nodded stiffly. Yes, a child born to a king and a queen was a child born to luxury, to honor and to fame. He was also a child who was subjected to responsibilities - responsibilities that were sometimes too immense and demanding that the child had to have a wife at the age of two hours and a half.
oOo
“Yoshiko, is he your Syusuke?” asked the Queen as the Duchess of Chrysalium joined her for tea that was served at the garden. She offered her arms and took the boy from the Duchess. “He is quite… adorable.”
“Yes, my Syusuke is,” replied the Duchess heartily. “I’m sorry I couldn’t have visited earlier. But of course you understand that I couldn’t travel much with an infant around?”
“I perfectly understand,” said the Queen jovially as she regarded the child in her arms with motherly interest. “Kunimitsu is taking my time as well. There are so many things I couldn’t do as I have to attend to him - ”
“Syusuke and the Prince will be very good friends.”
The Duchess, smiling, turned to her eldest child, who was enjoying the cake that was served with tea. “Yumiko, dear, it isn’t very polite to discuss with elders. You should apologize to the Queen.”
“Are you sure, Yumiko?” asked the Queen as though she hadn’t heard the Duchess at all.
“Ahh,” said Yumiko, nodding her head eagerly. “I’ve seen them in my dreams. They’re playing together, studying together…”
“The boys in your dreams could be anyone else, though,” said the Duchess thoughtfully.
“They call each other ‘Syusuke’ and ‘Kunimitsu’,” Yumiko defended.
Her Majesty smiled at the eight-year old girl. Yes, she was quite young but she was no doubt a Seer. “I’m glad, then,” she said truthfully. “Yumiko, dear, would you like some more cake?”
“Aachan.”
Queen Ayana turned to her side and smiled at her son, who had been up on the crib, clutching at its wooden bars, and was tugging at the sleeve of her gown.
“The Prince might be jealous,” said Duchess Yoshiko, smiling mildly.
She was about to take her son from the Queen’s arms when the Prince said, more insistently this time, “Aachan.”
“Perhaps he’d like to see Syusuke,” said Yumiko cheerily. “They are friends, after all.”
The Queen, amused by the suggestion, gently placed the child inside the crib. The Prince blinked and stopped tugging at his mother’s sleeve. Instead, he dropped to his knees and crawled to the other child’s side. He didn’t do anything. He didn’t touch the child who was invading his territory. He didn’t call out to his mother. He just sat there studying the invader, bearing the innocent curiosity that could only belong to a child.
oOo
Before reaching one year old, Fuji Syusuke often shared a crib with the Prince, sometimes playing with the Prince’s toys or just taking a nap beside the Prince while the Queen of Fenestrium and Duchess of Chrysalium attended to stitchwork, discussed matters, sipped tea or went to court.
When the Duchess gave birth to another son, one whom she named Yuuta, and couldn’t bring Syusuke to the castle, the Queen would insist on visiting the Fujis’ manor. No one quite understood the Queen’s actions until she explained to Duchess Yoshiko that she wanted an assurance that the Prince would have a true friend. A friend who’d never leave the Prince’s side, one whom the Prince could entrust his life with, one who’d always be loyal.
The Duchess understood this and she agreed. Fenestrium was an affluent kingdom with a capable King. Capable Kings gained enemies. Capable Kings couldn’t tell true friends from feisty foes. The Queen acknowledged this. But she was a mother, too, and she wanted at least a person who would help her son, who would be able to share the burden of being the future King.
This was the reason why everyday, Fuji Syusuke would be sent to visit the Castle. There he would study, read, write, count numbers, play with wooden swords - all of these things he did with the Prince. So often was he seen with the Prince that some women fondly called him the 'Prince’s merry little shadow'.
Once, a child of noble blood asked the Prince if Fuji were the Prince’s shadow. The Prince blinked. “No. Syusuke is my friend,” he said matter-of-factly - just like how any five-year old would.
That afternoon, when the governess asked the Prince and Fuji to draw something, anything, Fuji slipped a piece of paper toward the Prince where he drew two boys studying together, portraying the scene in lines less crooked than the way other five-years old could manage. Prince of Fenestrium, Tezuka Kunimitsu - the bespectacled boy was labeled. Fuji Syusuke, Marquis of Chrysalium - the other boy, the smiling one, was labeled.
oOo
A/N: Ooch. I think I killed myself. Fuji. Tezuka. Babies. Cribs!!! -dies- he setting is all mine. I can give you a map of the place/world, if you want. Woots. It's set in a world where most of my 'regency-ish' original fics took/are taking place. Comments are loved!