Heavy is the Head

Chapter 2

They meet up once a week and it's like nothing Pete's ever experienced. He's had to be Prince Pete his whole life, everyone with whom he comes in contact has certain expectations of who he is, and he always tries his best to live up to those expectations.

But not with Ae.

With Ae he feels like a blank slate. Like he can be however he wants to, and Ae will just accept it as truth. He's not sure if this is how normal people live, or if Ae is just special.

It's slow going. Ae's not very book smart, but he's hard working and passionate enough to make up for that deficiency. During their sessions he's learned a few things about Ae. He has an older brother, he's from a small farming town in the south of the continent, and he left everything behind to come here.

"Of course I miss everyone at home, especially N'Yim, but I'm gonna make them proud."

"N'Yim?" Pete asks, as casually as he can muster.

"My niece," Ae says, smiling wide and bright. "She's got such chubby cheeks, she's the cutest thing ever."

He gives Pete a once-over.

"Actually, you're pretty cute too. Maybe I'll pinch your cheeks instead."

Pete malfunctions. He goes red and splotchy and splutters.

"Y-y-you ca- Who's c- w-w-"

"See," Ae says, gently squeezing the apple of Pete's cheek, "cute."

Ae looks fondly at a dumbstruck Pete- unable to say a word- like one would look at a young child.

Ae refocuses himself, "So how much did this guy actually conquer?"

"Um..." Pete shakes his head to clear his mind and reorient himself. "Well, a lot. During his reign, King Ariyasakul II conquered nearly half the continent."

"Only half?" Ae intones, half-joking.

"Well, yeah. You see- and pay attention because this is important to modern politics-" Ae turns his body in his seat and listens raptly. "King Ariyasakul was all set to conquer the entire continent, but he hit a roadblock," Pete looks at the map drawn in the textbook and points to a cluster of land off the coast, "The Ooma Islands."

"Oh, I know those." Ae says proudly, definitely not trying to show-off. "Whoever has control of the islands has control of all the trade and waterways from and to the west."

"Exactly," Pete praises. "So the king travels with an envoy to the islands to meet with King In. Unlike King Ariyasakul I, he wants to negotiate and make a deal, rather than starting a war."

When Pete talks about history he gets so excited that he feels lighter, and you can see him bounce slightly, as if untethered from the ground. The more excited Pete gets, the softer Ae feels.

"So they meet up and the negotiations start off poorly. King In is famous for being stubborn, and he has no intention of letting King Ariyasakul's army onto his land, let alone take over the island. So he has to turn around and they spend months sending messengers and correspondences back and forth. And then-" Pete cuts himself off.

"And then what?" Ae is on the edge of his seat, eager to hear the conclusion.

"Uh... Nobody really knows. They both died before they could come to a resolution, and our country is still at odds with the islands to this day."

"How did they die?" Ae asks, digging for closure in this unsatisfying ending.

"The islands think we did it, we think the islands did it, but there's never been any proof. And they both died, right around the same time, it just doesn't add up."