Of Regal Honor and Noble Misgivings - Four: Cactus
Title: Of Regal Honor and Noble Misgivings
Pairing, characters: Tezuka/Fuji (duh! XD), Fuji family, Tezuka family
Rating: G for now
Genre: Romance/Fantasy/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: 48. cactus
A/N: More of the eight-year old Tezuka and Fuji! :D Fuji likes apples in case you forgot
Chapter Four
----Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.----
Swordfights, horseback-riding, hunting, archery and all crafts of the like never quite troubled the Prince of Fenestrium. He was so well-versed in these arts that, in fact, even at the age of eight, his mentors appraised him and told him that he did even better than some of the adults they knew. He carried himself in a manner so dignified that told everyone he was going to be King just by looking at him.
Yet, on the day of the festival, the Prince seemed rather discomfited as the carriage rolled down the streets. He creased his brows and his forehead and he crossed his arms and slouched his back and pulled a deep breath and huffed. He tried to relax for he had been told never to lose composure. But in a matter of seconds he creased his brows and his forehead and he crossed his arms and slouched his back and pulled a deep breath and huffed again.
The Queen, the only other occupant of the carriage for the King went to attend matters of actual import, saw this and stooped forward. In all eight years, she knew her son had never been as perturbed. A motherly smile touched her lips and she asked, “Is there anything wrong, dear?”
At first, the Prince merely gazed up at his Mother and shook his head. He mumbled an apology for worrying the Queen and, with much effort, sat back and relaxed.
“Are you certain, Kunimitsu?” asked the Queen for she was half a Queen, half a Mother and her Mother part was hardly convinced.
The Prince was about to nod in assent when, perhaps, his mouth had gotten better of him. Instead, he asked, “Okaasan, would you know if Syusuke is coming?”
The Queen’s brows rose slightly. “I can’t be quite certain,” she said leniently. “You’ll know when we reach the plaza.”
Pursing his lips as if to swallow the impatience that climbed up his throat, the Prince nodded obediently.
Trying not to look as eager as he had felt, Tezuka hopped out of the carriage once it skidded to a halt. Immediately, he strolled to the Fujis’ carriage and poked his head in, searching. “Syusuke isn’t with you?” he asked. Disappointment lined his normally clear forehead.
“I’m afraid not, Your Highness,” replied the Duchess, patting the Prince’s head in a consoling manner. “He stayed at home because he didn’t want Yuuta to be alone.”
“But he really wanted to come to the festival too,” he said under his breath.
“Your Highness.”
Tezuka glanced up quickly, following the whispering voice and saw Yumiko smiling at him.
“I’m sure Syusuke would be incredibly delighted if you brought him something.”
Tilting his head, Tezuka watched Yumiko. He frowned for a moment, and thought that there was a rather odd smile on Yumiko’s face. But he wasn’t sure if ‘odd’ was quite the word. He would have considered the word ‘significant’ if he knew what that word actually meant.
Then, after a few seconds, Tezuka nodded. After all, Fuji always said that Yumiko knew lots of things. If Fuji believed Yumiko, Tezuka believed Yumiko too.
oOo
Curious things filled the stalls that lined the plaza street. There were marionettes, bamboo flutes, fans of all sizes, swords of all lengths and many other things that the Prince couldn’t name. But despite this, the Prince strolled idly down the lane probably because there was no Fuji to drag him to places. This time, he only had a couple of guards who walked a yard or two behind him.
“Caramel apples! Chocolate apples!”
The Prince’s head perked up. He stopped in front of the stall that was lined with caramel apples, chocolate apples, candied apples, big apples, small apples, colored apples and other apples that he hadn’t thought of before. “Sir, can I have two of each sort please?” he asked, knowing that Fuji was one who could eat apples for breakfast, lunch and dinner two days in a row.
“Of each sort?” The nearly balding vendor asked in disbelief.
“Make that three of each please?” Tezuka quickly added when he thought that Fuji might want to share with Yuuta too.
Feeling inordinately pleased with himself, the Prince handed the shopping baskets to his guards. He sashayed a bit more quickly now, stopping every now and then to take a glimpse at the stalls.
But what caught his attention were the tiny potted plants that looked quite strange. Well, they weren’t pleasing to the eye but they weren’t ugly either. They were green and most were rounded. They had no leaves but they were spiny.
“What are they… ma’am?” The Prince inquired, almost forgetting to be polite in his curiosity.
“They’re cacti,” an elderly woman, the stall-keeper, replied.
“Cacti?” repeated Tezuka interestedly. “So this one is a cacti?” he asked, pointing a particularly bulbous plant.
“You call one a cactus.”
“Ahh, I see,” Tezuka nodded respectfully. “Are they hard to take care of?”
“Not quite. They don’t need as much water,” said the woman, beaming at him. “Will you buy one?”
“Yes, please,” Tezuka said almost in earnest.
He tried to remember what Fuji said the day before. Fuji had said he wanted those strange potted plants. Tezuka looked at the pot in his hand and nodded to himself, deciding that it did look strange enough.
oOo
The Duchess and the Queen were still at the festival and had trusted Yumiko to take the Prince to the Fuji manor. Wearing one of those smiles that Tezuka found puzzling, Yumiko led the Prince to Yuuta's bedchamber where the Marquis was expected to be.
“Kuni - Your Highness!” said Fuji, correcting himself at the sight of his sister. “Didn’t you go to the festival with Her Majesty?” He rose from Yuuta's bedside and dragged Tezuka to settle at the foot of Yuuta's bed.
“I did,” Tezuka replied. “Here,” he mumbled, pushing the cactus toward Fuji.
The Marquis looked at the plant in slight confusion. He dropped his voice to avoid waking Yuuta up and asked, “What is this?”
“It’s a cactus,” said Tezuka knowingly. “It’s not hard to take care of.”
“Really?” Fuji’s face glowed. “Thank you.”
“He brought you apples too,” Yumiko said in a low voice, setting a tray of apples on Yuuta's bedside table.
“Thank you then. I must have missed a lot on the festival,” Fuji said sadly.
“We can go next year,” Tezuka reassured, patting Fuji’s arm.
Fuji reached out for two sticks of caramel apple and handed one to Tezuka and began nibbling. Fuji asked Tezuka what other things were at the festival and complained a couple of times when he thought Tezuka wasn't being quite descriptive.
After an hour, Fuji figured that they must have eaten a lot and that Tezuka must have been utterly exhausted for the Prince had his head on Yuuta's bed, sleeping peacefully.
Grinning, Fuji reached out for a spare bit of paper. He set the pot of cactus beside Tezuka and began sketching. When he was satisfied, he added a note at the end:
Why does Kunimitsu look the same even in sleep? He looks old. And this is the cactus Kunimitsu bought for me. Maybe I can buy more next year.
-tbc-